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THE 



RABBIT FANCIER; 



A TREATISE UPON THE 



§mVivi^, llearhrg, cf^cirhig, Hub ^zwzx-d Panagement 



RABBITS : 



■WTTH REilARKS UPON THEIR 

DISEASES AND REMEDIES, 

DRAWN FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES AND PERSONAL OBSERVATION. 



TO WHICH ARE ADDED 

FULL DIRECTIONS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF HUTCHES, RABBITRIES, ETC., 
TOGETHER WITH RECIPES FOR COOKING AND DRESS- 
ING FOR THE TABLE. 

BY C.N. BEMENT, 

AUTHOR OP **TnE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION.'* 



NE\Y YORK: 

C. M. SAXTON & CO., AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS, 
152 FULTON STREET. 

1855. 






2^Z7i 



Entered, accordiug to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

C. M. SAXTON, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for 
the Southern District of New York. 



iy iraa«i'er fror* 
?ftt. Office Uli. 



lEUinart ©. SniUins, printer, 
Nos. 26 AND 28 Frankfort Street. 



ILLUSTKATIONS. 

PAGE 

EABBIT PIT 37 

SECTION OF A TWO-TIEE KAEBIT HUTCH 4^ 

GABLE-END ELEVATION, NO. 1 48 

MATN f'LOOE PLAN, NO. H 48 

LOFT, tE GAEEET, NO. IH 50 

CFJJLi^., NO. lY 50 

FEONT AND FLOOE SECTIONS, NOS. Y. AND YI 52 

EEAE SECTION, NO. YH 53 

TWO-EOWED HUTCH 55 

ANGOLA EABBIT , 63 

THE LOP-EAEED EABBIT.... 68 

HALF LOP 68 

DEWLAP EABBIT 71 

AMEEICAN GEAY EABBIT 88 

THE NOETHEEN YAEYING HAEE 92 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Prefatory 7 

Rabbits 9 

Merits and Uses 12 

Nature and Habits 16 

Breeding 17 

Management of the Doe 20 

Management of the Young. 22 

Handling 23 

Feeding 24 

Rabbit Courts 34 

Rabbit Pit 36 

Rabbit Hutches 41 

Selection of Stock 57 

Varieties of Rabbits 61 

Fancy Rabbits 69 

Markings : The Smut and the Chain — Carriage 73 

Salable Value 75 

Properties required for Prizes 76 

Feeding and Killing for the Table 77 

Castration 78 

Diseases — ^Their Prevention and Cure 79 

American Gray Rabbit 89 

Northern Varying Hare 93 

Cooking Rabbits 96 

French Ways of Cooking Rabbits 99 



PREFATORY. 



IiN" the preparation of this little treatise, it has been the 
aim and desire of the author that without entirely exclud- 
ing the less necessary points of the subject, it should be 
made as practicable as possible, and should contain such 
information as is most required by beginners, with but 
little previous knowledge of the management of our little 
favorite. We have done our best to carry out this inten- 
tion, and we think that the novice, after a careful perusal 
of the following pages, will find but little difficulty in 
commencing and continuing his pleasing task. 

When about twelve or thirteen years of age we com- 
m.enced breeding rabbits, — the common tame varieties, 
black, blue, white, and party-colored. For their accom- 
modation we enclosed a circular piece of gTound, on a side- 
hill, about twenty -five feet in diameter, by setting boards 
on end in the ground, two feet deep, and about five feet 
high, in the form of a stockade, or like the enclosure of 
the pit, as figured in page 39. AYe dug a pit in the cen- 
tre, covering it with boards, placing the earth on the top 
in the form of a mound. From this they worked holes in 
the sides of the walls and formed their nests for breeding. 

We started with a trio, one buck and two does. They 

(7) 



8 PREFATORY. f 

"bred like rabbits," and we soon bad quite a stock, say 
from fifteen to twenty, but for some reason tbey did not 
seem to increase much afterward. The cause at the time 
we could not comprehend, but now think the bucks or 
males caused the mischief by destroying the young, and 
quarrelling with one another, so we abandoned that enter- 
prise. Breeding in hutches, at that early date, was un- 
known in this country. 

While residing on Three Hills Farm, some eighteen 
years ago, my father, being crippled with rheumatism, 
amused himself with breeding rabbits in hutches, and suc- 
ceeded admirably ; raising quite a large number, many of 
which afforded us dainty meals. Castrating the young 
bucks and fattening them for the table, many of them 
weighed eight pounds after being dressed. The flesh was 
white, tender, and well-flavored. 

We hope that this little book will serve to diffuse, more 
widely, reliable information on the subject of which it 
treats, and prove a welcome acquisition and manual of 
present interest and permanent utility; and that it will 
claim, at least, the favorable consideration of those for 
whom it is designed. 

C. K BEMENT. 

Siaten Island^ May^ 1855. 



RABBITS. 



In a little treatise like tliis, it is hardly wortb. the labor 
to inquire into tlie origin, or to attempt to trace the subju- 
gation of the rabbit. Like the domestic fowl, its domesti- 
cation is shrouded in mystery. The wild rabbit is un- 
doubtedly the origin of our various domestic breeds. It is 
generally believed that the rabbit was first introduced into 
Spain from Africa, by the Eomans, whence it gradually 
spread, naturalizing itself into temperate climates, but 
does not reach quite so far north as the hare. There ap- 
pears every probability that the most remarkable varieties 
came from Persia and the adjacent countries. 

Tame races, which have the greatest claim to style 
themselves aboriginals of England, were in all likelihood 
existing in their present state long before the commence- 
ment of any historical epoch in Great Britain. It would 
appear, therefore, that the rabbit is not an aboriginal of 
England, but the date of its introduction is imknown. 
Tame rabbits easily resmue their natural state of freedom, 
and return to their instinctive habits. 

In its wild state, it forms long, winding burrows ; keeps 
its hole by day ; feeds morning, evening, and night, on 
vegetables and grain. ■ 

Eabbits are found in great numbers in England, bur- 
rowing in dry, sandy soils, particularly if the situation be 
1* w 



10 THE EABBIT. 

hilly or the ground irregular. Enclosures called warrens 
are frequently made in England, in favorable spots of this 
kind, some of which extend to hundreds of acres. Eab- 
bits not being swift-footed animals, are taken by nets, 
traps, ferrets, and dogs. The common wild rabbit is of a 
gray color, and is the best for the purpose of food; its 
skin is valuable, as the pelt is a material for hats ; but 
another variety has been introduced, the silver-gray^ the 
skin of which is more valuable, and is dressed as fur ; the 
color of this is a black ground, thickly interspersed with 
single gTay hairs. A great number of them are exported 
to China. 

Size excepted, the rabbit closely resembles the hare in 
all its principal characters. It may, however, be at once 
distinguished by the comparative shortness of the head 
and ears, as well as of the hinder limbs ; the absence of a 
black tip to the ears ; and by the brown color of the upper 
surface of the tail. Its habits and general economy are 
totally opposite to the hare, and its flesh, instead of being 
dark and highly flavored, is white and delicate. The 
flesh of the rabbit diifers somewhat according to its wild 
or domestic state. There is some difference of opinion as 
to which is preferable ; the wild rabbit has more flavor, 
but some prefer the tame as whiter and more delicate. 

The tame rabbit in all its varieties, has always been, and 
still is, a great favorite in many parts of the European 
Continent. "In Holland," saj^s a writer in the American 
Agriculturist, "it is bred with reference to color only, 
which must be a pure white, with dark ears, feet, legs and 
tail; this distribution has a singular effect, but withal, it 
is a pretty little creature. The French breed a long, 



RABBITS. 11 

rangy animal, of great apparent size, but deficient in depth 
and breadth, and, of course, wanting in constitution; no 
attention is paid to color, and its markings is matter of 
accident. The white Angola, Avith its beautiful long fur 
and red eyes, is also a great favorite in France." 

Albinos are sometimes found among the common white 
rabbits, and it often happens that one or two appear in a 
litter, when neither of the |)arents are so. 

There are several varieties of tame rabbits. The large 
white and yellow, and white variety, have the whitest and 
m.ost delicate flesh, and when cooked in the same way, 
sometimes rivals the turkey. There is also a large variety 
of the hare color, the flesh of which is highly flavored and 
more saA^ory than that of the common rabbit ; and it makes 
a good dish cooked like the hare, to which, at six or eight 
months old, it is nearly equal in size. 

As the flesh of the tame rabbit is inclined to be dry, it 
is well to feed them partly on green vegetables, which 
makes it more juicy. They become larger and fatter in 
the tame than in the wild state ; but it is not desirable to 
have them as fat as they can be made. Some that have 
been fed in. hutches have been known to exceed twelve 
pounds in weight. When very old they are tough like 
hares. 

Wild rabbits are procurable young and in good condi- 
tion only at particular seasons, but tame ones may be 
always bred in a state fit for the table. The latter are in 
the greatest perfection when four months old ; but if well 
fed, will not be too old at eighteen months old. 

The skins, if carefully preserved, besides being saleable, 
arc useful in a family for lining garments. 



MERITS AND USES. 

The real value of the rabbit to man is greater than 
would appear at first sight. Independently of the fur, 
which enters largely into the manufacture of hats and 
other articles, the skin makes an excellent glue. If the 
flesh is not particularly nutritious, it is a light and agree- 
able article of food ; and none but those who have lived 
in the country, and have received the unexpected visit of 
fi-iends to dinner, can form an adequate idea of the conve- 
nience of having a plump rabbit or two at hand in the 
hutch. 

But we hold that, besides their material profitableness, 
there is a moral value attached to these animals. They 
afford an early lesson to the young of the responsibility of 
having live animals to feed and tend. Their proprietor- 
ship affords an opportunity of exercising the priceless 
qualities, in after-life, of thrift, attentiveness, good man- 
agement, forbearance, and forethought. Innocent and 
unfailing amusement is thus derived from the daily prac- 
tice of prudent habits, which are an excellent preparation 
for a subsequent charge of greater importance and difii- 
culty. 

The dung of these animals is an excellent manure for 
clayey soils, and is particularly serviceable in the culture 
of vines and fibrous-rooted green-house plants. 



MERITS AND USES. 13 

The rabbit shares with the fowl and the pig the merit 
of being a save-all, — ^being a transmuter of useless scraps 
and offal into useful and valuable fur and flesh. All sorts 
of vegetable tops and parings, weeds from the garden, 
which are not of too moist a nature — ^which would other- 
wise meet Avith no better fate than to be swept away to 
the rubbish-heap — ^will, with the addition of suf&cient dry 
food, serve to maintain a little stud of rabbits. The cast- 
out refuse of three or four gardens, in a village, in the 
hands of niany an ardent young stock-master, would 
serve, under a judicious administration, to rear, feed, and 
fatten his little flock. And in house-keeping, as well as 
in agriculture, trifling means of profit ought not to be 
neglected, when they are capable of being secured with 
only trifling exertion and the outlay of a small amount of 
capital, and especially when they are, as in this instance, 
the natural appendage of every poultry -yard or homestead 
which pretends to be of the least importance. The mis- 
fortune is, that exaggerated accounts have been given to 
the world which led to failures. 

On the other hand, it is a false accusation to charge 
these animals with consuming any undue and enormous 
quantity of fodder. Some authors have asserted that ten 
rabbits will eat as much as a cow; but it seems to be 
proved that it would take at least fifty or sixty of them to 
effect so great a consumption as that. Probably the observ- 
ers who have stated the fact, founded their calculations on 
the superfluous quantity of herbage which might have been 
supplied, and which the rabbits soon reduced to the state 
of filthy litter. The objection made to the unwholesome- 
nes3 of rabbit-keeping, in consequence of the smell which 



14 THE KAEBIT. 

their hutches emit if neglected, is equally applicable to any 
other breach of cleanly habits. The evil and the remedy 
are in the hands of those who made the complaint. The 
rabbit itself is naturally a cleanly animal, and when con- 
fined by itself will always choose one particular spot or 
corner in which to deposit its ordure, and will be careful 
not to defile any other. 

The cottager, the only meat on whose table is often a 
jnorsel of salt pork, will not prove so hard to please 
when he sits down to a fine rabbit of his own rearing and 
fatting. 

The food of the rabbit is entirely vegetable. They feed 
upon common grass, clover, lucern, and on good hay, pea 
and bean vines. Greens and roots form excellent food, 
and potatoes boiled or steamed. They "svill fatten on them, 
but still more if they are given oats or bran. Some think 
their flesh is less dry when fed chiefly upon succulent 
herbs ; but with these moist foods they must always have 
a proportionable quantity of the dry food, as hay, bread 
and oats, bran, brewers' grains, chaff, and the like ; or 
when they have greens, they must not have drink. At 
all times they drink but little. The test of health is their 
dung being not too moist. 

"In England," says a writer in the Cultivator^ "the 
rabbit formerly held the rank of ' farm-stock,' and thou- 
sands of acres were exclusively devoted to its production ; 
families were supported, and rents, rates, and taxes were 
paid from its increase and sale. I remember visiting a 
farm of Lord Onslow's, in Surrey, containing about 1,400 
acres. It was in the occupation of an eminent flock- 
master and agriculturist, who kept some hundreds of 



MERITS AND USES. 15 

hutched rabbits for the sake of their manure, which he 
applied to his turnip crop ; added to this, their skins and 
carcasses were quite an item of profit, notwithstanding 
the care of them required an old man and a boy, with a 
donkey and cart. The food used was chiefly brewers' 
grains, millers' waste, bran and hay, with clover and 
roots ; the cost of keeping not exceeding two pence a 
week. The hutches stood under a long shed, open on all 
sides, for the greater convenience of cleaning and feeding. 
I was told that the manure was much valued by the mar- 
ket gardeners around London, who readily paid 25. M. a 
bushel at the rabbitries. These rabbitries are very nu- 
merous in all the towns and cities of England, and form a 
source of amusement or profit to all classes, from the man 
of fortune to the day -laborer. Nor is it unfrequent that 
this latter produces a rabbit from an old tea-chest, or dry- 
goods box, that wins the prize from its com|)etitor of the 
mahogany hutch or ornamental rabbitry." 



NATURE AND HABITS. 

Every class of stock-keeping and menagerie manage- 
ment, in order to be permanently successful, and not con- 
ducted at mere liapkazard, must be founded on a previous 
knowledge of the habits and constitution of the creatures 
kept ; and therefore, as we here desire to communicate all 
the information which a novice requires, we believe that 
the inexperienced breeder of rabbits will best understand 
the theory and principles of his art, if we first make him ac- 
quainted with the precise nature of the animal with which 
he proposes to deal. 

" The rabbit belongs to that order of the class Mamma- 
lia, or suck-giving animals, which is called Incisores^ be- 
cause they cut their food with the front teeth of their 
upper and lower jaws. They do not grind it, like the 
horse, the ox, and the elephant, for the simple reason 
that they have no grinders, or molar teeth. Some of 
these "cutters" are carnivorous, or rather omnivorous, 
like the rat ; others are herbivorous in general, but occa- 
sionally insectivorous, like the Guinea-pig (which the old 
French writers call "the Connil d'Inde, or Indian rabbit) ; 
some, like the hare, feed exclusively on vegetables and 
grain ; and the rabbit, unless under exceptional circum- 
stances, belongs to this latter category. The rabbit and 
the Guinea-pig are the only "cutters" that have been 
strictly domesticated by man ; though he has made pets 

(16; 



NATUEE AND HABITS. — BEEEDING. 17 

of the squirrel, tlie dormouse, tlie marmot, tlie albino 
mouse, and one or two others." 

The male rabbit is called "a buck," the female "a 
doe." " The English language has not, like the Erench, a 
special word (Jopereau) to denote the young. Eabbits are 
polygamous — one male being quite sufficient for as many 
as thirty females ; in warrens, only one is allowed to a 
hundred. The adult bucks are overbearing, mischievous, 
and quarrelsome. Success very much depends on the 
way in which they are managed ; and consequently, rab- 
bit-keeping is an amusement better adapted for boys than 
for girls, unless, indeed, they have an elder 'brother or 
parent who will take upon himself the entire direction of 
the breeding department." 



BREEDINa. 

Tame rabbits are raised in hutches or boxes placed in 
apartments constructed on purpose for them, or in sheds. 
They may also be bred in small artificial warrens, pre- 
pared for them, where the soil is extremely dry, and well 
drained by a ditch all around it, and having banks raised 
for the rabbits to burrow in. A damp situation will be 
fatal to the stock. As the nature of the rabbit is to dig, 
care must be taken to sink the wall or fence sufficient to 
prevent them from undermining and making their escape. 

The doe will breed at the age of a year, and sometimes 
at the age of six months, and her period of gestation is 



18 THE EABBIT. 

thirty or tliirtj-one days. But tliey should not be allowed 
to breed at that early age, as they are liable to abortion ; 
and even if that misfortune is avoided, their little ones 
come into the world exceedingly Aveak, and sometimes 
defective. It cannot be expected to happen otherwise. 
Nature, in spite of all her efforts, will fail to develop at 
the same time the strength of the mother and of her off- 
spring also. The attempt will assuredly be made at the 
expense of one or the other— probably both. The young 
ones will have to suffer from an insufficient supply of 
milk ; their constitution will prove weak and rickety ; 
and the chances are, that they will die of debility before 
attaining an age to be of any use. 

The doe goes with young thirty, or sometimes thirty- 
one days. A fortnight after she has littered, she is ready 
to visit the buck again, with whom she should be placed 
in the evening, and returned to her young the following 
morning. She might be put to him five or six days after 
bringing forth, as she is almost always in heat ; but she 
requires a fortnight's repose to recover her strength. She 
breeds throughout the winter as well as in summer, and 
will, therefore, according to strict theory, produce eight 
litters in the course of a single year. But all this sup- 
poses every circumstance to be invariably favorable : — 
that she should be thoroughly well fed, never out of 
health, and that no untoward accident happen. A much 
safer calculation is to reckon upon six litters a year ; 
some breeders are even contented with supposing five to 
be successfully reared. When the buck is not more than 
five or six years old, and the doe than five, it is very rare 
that she misses. But should it so happen, give her a 



BREEDING. 19 

nutritious and stimulating diet, sucli as parsley, celerj, 
fennel, thyme, and otlier aromatic herbs, besides a liberal 
diet of oats, bran, or pollard, and sweet bay ; keep her 
tolerably warm, and in a few days she will be all right 
again. After her night's absence, she will be returned to 
her own hutch, and will then suckle her last progeny 
another week longer. To keep all the parent animals in 
this constant state of isolation is one of the main and 
fundamental maxims of rabbit-keeping ; for the buck will 
not only greatly harass the doe, if he is allowed free a,c- 
cess to her, but will often kill the young while they are 
still blind and helpless. 

The number at a birth varies from two or three up to 
eight and ten young ones. In general, the larger the 
breed, the fewer at a birth. As many as eighteen have 
been known in extreme cases. But eight or nine are a 
much better average. Some breeders prefer to have no 
more than five or six, and take away those that are in 
excess. When it can be done without too much disturb- 
ance, the plan is a good one, especially v/hen the doe has 
lost or destroyed her former litters. Sometimes, when she 
is weak and exhausted at the time of littering, she feels that 
she can suckle only a limited number, she herself will 
save her owner the trouble of killing the supernumeraries, 
and will calculate according to her strength how many 
ought to be spared. But take six as the average number 
of little ones to be produced at each six litters, and w^e 
have thirty-six rabbits in the course of a twelvemonth as 
the produce of a single doe. More than that: — at six 
months old, the young rabbit is fully capable of becoming 
a parent in its turn. In two years, therefore, we should 



20 THE EABBIT. 

have four successive generations of rabbits all the while 
that the fecundity of the original ancestress is still going 
on. " Eabbits," says Pennant, " will breed seven times 
a year, and bring eight young ones each time." On a 
supposition that this happens regularly during four years, 
their numbers will amount to one million, tAvo hundred 
and seventy -four thousand, eight hundred and forty 
head. 



MANAQEMENT OF THE DOE. 

The intelligent breeder ought to know by his stud-book 
(for he will give names to his favorites) the day on which 
each doe is to bring forth. A few days beforehand, he 
will throw into the hutch a large handful of coarse but 
sweet hay. She will immediately make use of it to form 
her nest, and will employ for the same purjDOse any 
scraps, shreds, or odd bits that she can lay hold of. The 
first outside structure arranged, she then strips off the fur 
from beneath her belly, and devotedly denudes herself, to 
secure a soft, warm couch for the reception of her expected 
young. At this period, neglect may be fatal ; she must 
at the same time be kept quiet, and well fed, to support 
her in nursing. The omission of a single meal may check 
her milk, and occasion the death of several young. Few 
things at this time are better for her than carrots and oats. 
Wet vegetables are especially injurious. During the first 
week, let her have plenty of bran, mingled with a little 
salt. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE DOE. 21 

If the doe lias had a previous litter, they must all be 
removed before she brings forth a second time ; her hutch, 
too, ought to have been well cleaned out. Take care not 
to touch the young ; unless, at least, they are deposited in 
a wet place, or any of them die. All unnecessary dis- 
turbance or handling is apt to make the mother kill the 
whole of her family. When you find a doe overlays or 
eats her young, as they sometimes will, mark her well, 
and remember the circumstance ; for should the same mis- 
fortune happen again, the best thing to be done is to fatten 
and kill her. If, however, she be a favorite animal, and 
an attempt at reformation be resolved upon, she must be 
abundantly fed with good substantial food, and disturbed 
no more than is absolutely necessary. 



MANAQEMENT OF THE YOUNO. 

The little animals are born blind and helpless, covered 
only with a short velvety down. On the fifth day they 
open their eyes ; on the sixth, the liveliest little fellows 
amongst them begin to peep outside the nest. At a month 
old they eat alone, and partake of food together with their 
mother. At six weeks old they no longer require the 
doe, and ought to be weaned. This short period is quite 
sufficient to allow to be spent in the first term of rearing 
them. K they were left longer, they would be apt to ex- 
haust the dam, which ought to be avoided. After wean- 
ing, two modes of feeding have been adopted, with equal 
success : — the first is, to introduce all the weanhngs, from 
time to time, into a large hutch or common apartment, in 
which they are tended carefully, kejot warm and clean, 
and fed several times in the course of the day. At each 
feeding-time, every particle of victuals which has been 
trampled upon is scrupulously withdrawn ; and it is found 
that, by observing these regulations, the losses are Yery 
few, or none. When two months and a half old, they will 
fatten on carrots, oats, hay, and bran, v/itli a few peas now 
and then. 

The second plan is to keep together all the young rab- 
bits of the same month ; that is to say, they are distributed 
in six large hutches or apartments, care being taken to 



MANAGEMENT OF THE YOUXG. — HANDLIInG, 28 

separate the males from the females (or to castrate them) 
by the end of the third month. From the fifth to the 
sixth month, all those intended for sale are disposed of, 
after selecting the handsomest and best-tempered does to 
serve as breeders. Does will continue prolific until they 
are five years old. Beyond that age, it is rare to meet 
with rabbits surviving in a domestic state. After that, it 
is usual to fatten them for the table ; though, in such 
cases, the purchaser may complain that he has met with a 
hard bargain. The duration of their natural life is said 
to be from six to eight years. Buffon extends the term to 
nine years. 



HANDLINa. 

Rabbits are sometimes injured by being clumsily han- 
dled. The proper way to take hold of them is, to gTasp) 
the ears with the right hand, and to support the rump 
with the left. To seize them by the leg is apt to dislocate 
a limb, especially in the case of creatures that are shy ; 
an injudicious gripe round the neck or the body may 
prove unexpectedly and suddenly fatal, by injury to the 
vertebrae, compression of the lungs, or brealdng of the 
ribs ; a hasty clutch at the tail may cause the fur of that 
ornamental member to come off in one piece, and spoil 
the animal's beauty for life. The instantaneous way in 
which an adroit hand will kill a rabbit, apparently by the 
merest touch, gives a forcible hint as to the caution we shoidd 
use in allowing a favorite animal to be captured and pulled 



24 THE EABBIT. 

about by inexperienced persons. For does with joung, 
the greatest tenderness is indispensable. 



FEEDING. 

Rabbits should be fed twice a day — at morning and at 
night. If on green food, it ought to be thoroughly dry 
before it is put into their racks or thrown upon the floor 
of their hutches. This diet would principally consist of 
the refuse of the garden vegetables, taking care to give 
only a moderate quantity of cabbages, lettuce, and all 
other cold and watery plants. Wet herbage is deadly poison 
to rabbits. The leaves and roots of carrots, all sorts of 
leguminous plants, the leaves and branches (or the prun- 
ings) of all kinds of trees, cabbage leaves, wild succory, 
parsley, &;c., may be the diet of rabbits during summer. 
The great point, however, at all seasons, is to make the 
dry preponderate over the moist. 

According to Mowbray, it is better to feed three times 
than twice a day. The art of feeding rabbits with safety 
and advantage, is always to give the preponderance to dry 
and substantial food. Their nature is congenial with that 
of sheep, and the same kind of food, with little variation, 
agrees with both. He contends that all weeds and the 
refuse of vegetation should be banished from rabbit feed- 
ing : such articles being too washy and diuretic, and can 
never be worth attention whilst the more solid and nutri- 
tious productions of the field may be obtained in such 
plenty, and will return so much greater profit. Rabbits 
which have as much oats as they will eat, can never take 



FEEDING. 25 

any harm from being indulged ^Yith almost an equal por- 
tion of good substantial vegetables. However, the test of 
their health is that their dung be not too moist. 

Mr. E. E. Piatt, of Albany, a successful breeder of lop- 
eared rabbits, informs us that he feeds brewers' grains, and 
finds them the best and most economical feed for winter ; 
and, contrary to the natural supposition, they do not sour 
in the least, and their boAvels are ke23t in good order. The 
grain proper for rabbits is oats, peas, wheat, pollard, and 
some give buckwheat ; the greens and roots, the same as 
our cattle or sheep crops ; viz., carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, 
artichokes, and potatoes, if baked or steamed ; lucern, 
cabbage leaves, clover, tares, pea and bean haulm. The 
best dried herbage is clover and meadow ha}^, and pea 
and bean straw. 

"In relation to feeding," says a writer in the Cultivator, 
over the signature of "E," who is good authority in such 
matters, " I would caution breeders not to use lettuce after 
the plant begins to put up its seed stalks, as its narcotic 
effect is then so strong as to cause death. I lost in one 
summer over twenty rabbits from this plant before discov- 
ering the cause. Corn, sown broadcast, affords an abun- 
dant and an excellent substitute. I think the rutabaga, as a 
Avinter vegetable, is generally preferred to carrots. Water, 
I find, may be given to rabbits when six months old with- 
out any ill effects, though so positively interdicted by all 
the 'fancy.' I have not heretofore sufl&ciently enforced 
the importance of a liberal supply of hay, w^hich, in winter, 
affords the rabbit that amount of bulk necessary to the 
healthy feeding of all animals, and which oats alone would 
QOt give. It matters not how coarse the hay, nor how full 
2 



26 THE BABBIT. 

of trash and weeds, it will be equally souglit, and some- 
times preferred to any grain, especially if the rabbit is a 
little off its feed." 

A variety of food is a great thing ; and, surely, the fields, 
and gardens, and hedges furnish this variety — all sorts of 
grasses, strawberry leaves, and ivy. They should have oats 
once a day. When the doe has young ones, feed her most 
abundantly with all sorts of greens and herbage, and with 
carrots and other things mentioned before, besides giving 
her a few oats once a day. But do not think that, because 
she is a small animal, a little feeding or a little care is suf- 
ficient. To those gentlemen who keep rabbits for the use 
of their family, (and a very useful and convenient article 
they are too,) I would observe, that if they find their rab- 
bits die, they may depend on it that ninety-nine times out 
of the hundred starvation is the malady. 

"It is a matter of surprise to an American first visiting 
England," remarks L. F. Allen, in his "Eural Architec- 
ture," "to see the (quantities of game which abound at 
certain seasons of the year in London and other markets 
of that country, in contrast of the scanty supply, or rather 
no supply at all, existing in the markets of American cities. 
The reason for such difference is, that in England, Scotland, 
Wales, and Ireland, every acre of the soil is appropriated 
to some profitable use, while we, from the abundance of 
land in America, select only the best for agricultural pur- 
poses, and let the remainder go barren and uncared for. 
Lands appropriated to the rearing of game, when fit for 
farm pasturage or tillage, is improfitable, generally, with 
us ; but there are thousands of acres barren for other pur- 
poses, that might be devoted to the breeding and pasturage 



FEEDING. 27 

of rabbits, and wbicb, by thus appropriating them, might be 
turned to profitable account. All the preparation required 
is, to enclose the ground with a high and nearly close paling 
fence, and the erection of a few rude hutches inside for 
winter shelter and the storage of their food. They will 
burrow into the ground, and breed with great rapidity ; and 
in the fall and winter seasons, they ^vill be fat for market 
"with the food they gather from the otherwise worthless soil 
over which they run. Eocky, bushy, and evergreen grounds, 
either hill, dale, or plain, are good for them, wherever the 
soils are dry and friable. The rabbit is a gross feeder, 
living well on what many grazing animals reject, and 
gnawing down all kinds of brush, briars, and noxious 
weeds. 

" The common domestic rabbits are probably the best 
for market purposes, and were they to be made an object 
of attention, immense tracts of mountain in Kew Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, ISTew York, and Kew England, could be 
made available for this object. 

" Some may think," continues Mr. Allen, "this a small 
business. So is making pins, and rearing chickens and 
bees. But there are an abundance of people whose age 
and capacity are just fitted for it, and for want of other 
employment are a charge upon their friends and the pub- 
lic." 

On the subject of rearing "Fancy Rabbits," and their 
necessary accommodations, we subjoin the following from 
the pen of Mr. F. Rotch, of Morris, Otsego county, N. Y., 
who imported the first of the large lop-eared rabbits into 
this country, some twelve or fourteen years ago. His 
beautiful and high-bred animals have occasionally been 



28 THE RABBIT. 

exhibited at the fairs of the State Agricultural Society, 
for which premiums have been awarded and the highest 
commendations elicited. 

" Eabbits kept for profit in the vicinity of a city, and 
where there are mills, may be raised at a very small cost ; 
and when once known as an article of food, will be liber- 
ally paid for by the epicure, for their meat is as delicate 
as a chicken's, and their fat mild and very rich. 

"I am surprised they are not more generally kept as a 
source of amusement, and for the purpose of experi- 
ment. 

" There is, I think, in many, a natural fondness for ani- 
mals, but not easily indulged without more room than is often 
to be found in city residences. Fowls and pigeons trespass 
on our neighbors, and are a frequent cause of trouble. 
This objection does not hold good against a rabbit, which 
occupies so small a space, that where there is an out-house 
there may be a rabbitry. English children are encouraged 
in their fondness for animals, as tending to good morals 
and good feelings, and as offering a home amusement, in 
contradistinction to street associations. 

"In England, and in other parts of Europe, a love for 
animals, with the attendance and personal care necessary 
to their comfort, is encouraged from childhood up, as hav- 
ing a beneficial influence on the character. 

" The operatives, mechanics, and laborers in other coun- 
tries seem to have a perfect passion for such pursuits, and 
take the greatest interest and pride in breeding and perfect- 
ing the lesser animals, though often obliged to toil for the 
very food they feed to them. Here, too, home influences 
are perceived to be good, and are encouraged by the em- 



FEEDING. 29 

ployer, as supplying tlie place of other and mucli more 
questionable pursuits and tastes. 

"In relation to the man of leisure and science, I T\'Ould 
remark, that as the artist delights in the power of moulding 
the inert claj into life-like form, so does the intelligent and 
amateur breeder find infinite pleasure in the higher and 
more difficult art of modelling the live material into its 
most symmetrical proportions. And why should there 
not be as much satisfaction in producing what is excellent 
on a small, as on a large scale? Is not the statuette as 
beautiful, and is it not as much an effort of genius and art 
as the statue? 

"To myself," continues Mr. E., "the rabbitry is a 'stu- 
dio,' whereof thf material is cheap, rapidly produced, soon 
perfected, very abundant, and occupying a small space, 
and is thus brought under my own immediate care and 
observation, with but httle trouble, requiring months only 
instead of years, io practically test theories and speculations, 
and for studying some of the most important, but not 
imderstood, laws of nature. Such as, how far it may be 
safe to use clpse afSinities ? And if deteriorating, what are 
the first and warning symptoms ? In what order does the 
animal structure give way under a persisted course of such 
breeding ? The same as to cross-breeding, and how far 
the control of the breeder is diminished by its continuance ? 
The comparative influence of the parents on the offspring, 
and how evinced ? These, and many other i-'usettled ques- 
tions involving the first principles of breeding, would 
require almost a lifetime to decide by experiments on the 
larger animals, to say nothing of the large outlay i^ would 



80 THE RABBIT. 

require, and the serious losses that might reasonably be 
expected to attend it." 

With all due appreciation of the very important assist- 
ance rendered the agriculturist by analytical chemistry, I 
would sooner trust the practical experiments of the rab- 
bitry as to the value of the different kinds of food, than I 
would the analysis of the laboratory ! And though one 
may prove that a bushel of rutabaga be little more or less 
than a pail of water, yet if the other showed me that tur- 
nips, as the jDrincipal food, with but two ounces of hay per 
day to the rabbit, developed the animal frame by a healthy 
growth, an abundance of muscle and some fat, I should be 
strongly tempted to pour out the water and pour in the 
turnijDs. 

" Clubs and societies abound for the breeding and exhibi- 
tion of the ' Fancy-Lops,' now the favorite rabbit in 
England, and originally imported from Madagascar. 
Much pains have been taken, and much money spent, to 
bring them to their present perfection in form, color, and 
size ; all of which are minutely attended to, and not very 
easily combined in any one animal, and hence they form 
an admirable test of skill on the part of the breeder. 

" For instance, a rabbit, to come out a winner at one of 
those exhibitions, must possess all the points of symmetry 
in common with the larger animals of the improved 
breed ; such as a small, clean head, wide and full shoul- 
ders, broad and deep chest, a wide back, large loin, full 
quarters, and fine bone. 

'' Some of us, I suspect, find it no easy matter to get 
even thus far in the catalogue of excellences ; but to all 



FEEDING. 31 

these essentials are to be added the more conve'iitional^ and 
perhaps the more difficult points, of beauty and fancy, as 
laid down by the various societies ; embracing not only 
form and color, but the particular disposition and forms 
of color. 

^' A prize rabbit, then, must possess, besides the before- 
mentioned properties, a full, round, clear eye, an ear (col- 
ored as the body) long and broad, of a soft, delicate tex- 
ture, dropping alike, and nearly perpendicularly, down by 
the side of the cheek, with the convex of the ear turned 
rather out than in. This is termed its ' earage.'' The color 
on the body must be in strong, rich, unbroken masses, 
spreading itself uniformly over the back, sides, and 
haunches, called' the ' saddle^'' but breaking into spots and 
patches on the shoulders, known as the ' chain.'' The 
head must be full of color, interspersed with white on the 
forehead and cheeks, while the darker marking on the 
point of the nose, and on each lip, goes by the name of 
the ' butterfly ^^ from the resemblance it should bear to 
that insect. Add to all this a large, fall dew-lap, beauti- 
fully white, which spreads itself (when the animal reposes) 
over the fore feet, and forms a rich cushion for the head. 
All this, combined, would indeed form a perfect lop-eared 
rabbit, worthy to enter, and likely to win the prize collar, 
be it of gold or silver ; and the breeder may be proud of 
his success, though it be but a rabbit. Much consequence 
is attached to the length, quality, and carriage of the car, 
in awarding premiums. I was indifferent to this point of 
length, and purchased much lower in consequence, paying 
from ten to forty shillings sterling apiece for those I im- 
ported, according to age and quality ; whereas five guin- 
2* 



32 THE EABBIT. 

eas is not an nncommon price ; and individuals have been 
sold as higli as thirty guineas ! The consequence of my 
selection is, that out of fifty rabbits, in my rabbitry, I 
have not one that will exceed eighteen inches length of 
ear from point to point ! Whereas the Illustrated News 
of May, 1850, gave portraits of the two prize rabbits at 
the Eochester Show, from the excellent stud of Mr. George 
Tavell, measuring in length of ear 21 f inches and 21 i 
inches, and nearly five inches wide." 

" The usual colors are black, blue, gray, yellow, and 
tortoise-shell, on white grounds. These are called '"broken 
colors;'' when not mixed with either, they are termed 
'selfsr' 

" The rabbit easily conforms itself to the means, condi- 
tion, and circumstances of its owner : occupies but little 
space, breeds often, comes early to maturity, and is, withal, 
a healthy animal ; requiring, however, to be kept clean, 
and to be cautiously fed with succulent food, which must 
always be free from dew or rain. Water is unnecessary 
for them when fed with 'greens.' " 

" To does, when suckling, I give what they will eat of 
both green and dry food. The cost to me is about three 
cents a head per week." 

" My young rabbits, when taken from the doe, say at 
eight or ten weeks old, are turned out together till about 
six months old, when it becomes necessary to take them 
up and put them in separate hutches, to prevent their 
fighting and destroying each other. The doe at that age 
is ready to breed ; her period of gestation is about thirty- 
one days, and she produces from three or four to a dozen 
young at a ' litter.' It is not well to let her raise more 



FEEDING. 33 

than six, or even four, at a time — tlie fewer, the larger 
and finer the produce." 

Young rabbits are killed for the table at any age from 
twelve weeks to twelve months old, tnd are a very ac- 
ceptable addition to the country larder. 

" Hutches are made singly, or in stacks, to suit the 
apartments, which should be capable of thorough ventila- 
tion. The best size is, probably, about three feet long, 
though some recommend four feet, two feet deep, and 
fourteen inches high, with a small apartment partitioned 
off from one end, nearly a foot wide, as a breeding-place 
for the doe. A wire door forms the front, and an opening 
is left behind for cleaning; the floor should have a descent 
to the back of the hutch of two inches. All edges should 
be 'tinned, to save them from being gnawed." 



RABBIT COURTS. 

" Pekhaps the most pleasing, and, for the animals, the 
most healthy place to keep rabbits in, is a paved yard. 
K well situated, it becomes, in fact, a practical realization, 
on a small scale, of Olivier De Serres' grand idea. Two 
sides of the court-yard may be bounded by tall buildings, 
as houses or stabling ; if they stand to the north and east, 
so much the better. The other two sides should consist 
of a wall not more than five feet high, to admit air and 
sunshine. For security from intrusion from without, and 
to confine any fowls that may be kept within, palings 
may be fixed to the top of these low walls, without any 
inconvenience arising. The great object is to have the 
court at once airy, sunshiny, sheltered, and secure. In 
one or two corners of the court, or against one or two of 
its sides, there should be thrown a broad heap of earth 
and rubbish, eighteen inches lower than the top of the 
wall. In this, the rabbits will burrow and amuse them- 
selves — though it is better to prevent the does from nest- 
ing there, for fear of the attacks of cats and rats. The 
buck must be retained a close prisoner, in a box of his 
own. The breeding does, when their time of kindling 
approaches, will be comfortably settled in separate hutch- 
es, to be described hereafter. The day when each doe is 
to bring forth will be known from the stud-book, even 
if it is not indicated by the preparations she makes — 

(34) 



RABBIT-COURTS. 85 

sucli as carrying about straws and haulms in her mouth, 
and biting them into separate lengths. The rest of the 
stock will associate indiscriminately together in the court, 
with the sole exception that all males will be withdrawn, 
cut, or sent to the kitchen, as soon as they reach an age 
to prove troublesome ; and that young ones just weaned, 
that is, from six to eight weeks old, will be kept in a 
hutch by themselves till they are strong enough to join 
the general herd. 

The management of the rabbit court is obvious. Food, 
either dry or green, has only to be scattered about on the 
pavement of the court. The small proportion of individ- 
uals in confinement will, of course, require extra atten- 
tion, which will demand no great time to fulfil properly. 
AU that is necessary is, to do it regularly and unfailingly. 
Eabbits so kept are much more amusing objects than 
when they are constantly hidden from sight in their 
hutches. Their gambols are seen — their little antics with 
one another — their cleanly habits in brushing their fur 
coats — and even the petty quarrels and jealousies which 
arise from the elder ones striving for the mastery. They 
will also become so tame as to eat out of the hand, and to 
flock around their feeder when he enters with a bundle of 
vegetables or straw. The whole stud should be so liber- 
ally supplied with provender, that those intended to be 
eaten may be able to fatten upon it ; the growing and 
the breeding rabbits will amply repay the share they 
consume of this liberal diet, by the rapidity with which 
they come to hand, and the strength and thriftiness of 
the litters they bring forth. A rabbit court like this is 
particularly convenient for consuming the refuse and 



Z6 THE EABBIT. 

sweepings of a large kitclieii and flower-garden. We 
strongly recommend a rabbit court to those whose prem- 
is(^s and situation allow of such a plan being adopted. 



RABBIT PIT. 

Another form of dwelling, imitating in some degree the 
natural habitation of the animal, though less so than the 
court, is the rabbit pit. One of this kind is described in 
' ' Farming for Ladies, ' ' and annexed we give a wood-cut from 
the sketch in that work. The enclosure was only about 
twelve feet in diameter, covering a pit of six feet in depth, 
in which the rabbits were confined, and through the sandy 
sides of which they burrowed to the extent of from ten to 
fourteen feet to make their nests. The proprietor, how- 
ever, it was said, intended to fill up three feet of the depth, 
as he thought that the rabbits should be brought nearer to 
the air. The mode of catching the rabbits in the pit was 
with a long stick, forked at the end, which was hooked 
upon their neck when they came out to feed ; or they were 
snared with a bit of wire fastened to the end of a stick. 

We quote another rabbit pit from the Agricultural 
Gazette: — "In the Isle of Thanet, on the east coast of Kent, 
the writer witnessed and superintended, on his own prop- 
erty, the method which he now proceeds cursorily to 
describe, and the diagram on page 41 will tend to define 
the limits of the spaces required. 

"jSTo. 1 represents a pit five feet on each side of the 
square. It is an oblong, four feet long, and about two feet 
broad. Both are dug to the depth of six feet, perfectly 




RABBIT PIT. 



RABBIT-PITS. 



39 



level at the bottom and sides, the latter so mucli wider 
than the wooden curbs, as to admit of a facing of four-inch 
brick- work, in cement, excepting the spaces to admit of 
about six arched openings (as marked) of dimensions suf- 
ficient for the passage of the largest rabbit. 2, is the feed- 



S 

^ 



P CI 



n Q 



ing department. 8, is only an arched passage, tunnelled at 
the ground level of the bottom of the two pits, about a foot 
wide and broad, to serve as a communication between the 
pits. This is also bricked and arched, but is not seen at the 
top. A covering of oil cloth is added to the curb of each 
pit, and the cloth extends over the frame several inches 
beyond the curb, in order to prevent the entry of the 
heaviest rain. At the place op, the arched passage is 
always open ; and so it is also at the other extremity, 



40 THE RABBIT. 

marked /?-, excepting only wlien any of tlie rabbits are to 
be taken. Dryness is essential to the prosperity of this 
animal, therefore the soil should not only be naturally dry, 
but must be protected above, and kept secure at the sides 
and bottoms of the pit by the best brick-work. From 
what has been stated, it will be understood that a sound 
gravelly or sandstone soil forms by far the most appropriate 
medium for the warren, which the rabbits burrow into, 
and excavate according to their own requirements. Four 
does and a buck may be reckoned a good breeding stock ; 
and something of the kind was found when the Avriter 
purchased the property." 

The general idea of a rabbit pit being thus suggested, 
it will be easy for an amateur to modify it at his pleasure. 
Of the two specimens given, we would only observe that 
they both appear too small in their dimensions. A pit, 
also, is not a nice thing to have on one's premises. We 
doubt whether animals kept constantly below the surface 
of the ground would be maintained in such good health 
as those above it. Undoubtedly, the most perfect arrange- 
ment would be a combination of the rabbit court with the 
rabbit pit. 



RABBIT HUTCHES. 

TVe now come to what appears tlie simplest of all mat- 
ters, and wMcli yet, if it be not well contrived, will have 
a most influential effect in causing failure. From a tea- 
chest to a worn-out portmanteau or a leaky tub, any- 
thing has been thought good enough to keep a rabbit in. 
"Everybody," says Cobbett, "knows how to knock up a 
rabbit hutch." If the rabbits themselves could only speak, 
they would tell us that many a body sets about it in bung- 
ling manner, and proves himself profoundly ignorant of 
the fundamental principles of rabbit architecture. 

To learn these, we must go to the warren. There we 
find that the rabbit makes its dwelling in a sandy soil, and 
therefore well drained ; in hillocks and mounds, in prefer- 
ence to hollow bottoms, and therefore dry. The burrows 
frequently communicate wiih each other, and therefore 
allow a certain amount of ventilation, the wind blowing 
into the mouth of the hole being often sufficient to insure 
that. The thick stratum of light earth which covers the 
habitations of a colony of rabbits, causes coolness in sum- 
mer and warmth in winter. In the depth of a burrow it 
never freezes, and is never oppressively hot. In short, 
with the exception of the absence of light, which is of little 
importance in a sleeping-place^ a rabbit's burrow, magnified 
to corresponding proportions, would make, at a pinch, a 



42 THE RABBIT. 

very bearable dwelling for human beings devoid of otber 
shelter ; the nest which a doe prepares for her yonng is 
soft and warm enough for a baby to lie in, if sufficiently 
enlarged. And in truth, many thousands of our fellow- 
creatures spend their lives, are born, and die, in cellars 
which are less wholesome than a rabbit's burrow on this 
large imaginary scale would be. 

Whatever form of hutch, therefore, be adopted, it should 
be well sheltered, if possible; it should stand within an- 
other airy building, or at least under cover. Its tempera- 
ture should never descend to the freezing point, nor mount 
beyond summer heat — scarcely so high, if it can be avoided. 
On this account, rabbit hutches, or cabins of brick- work, 
built in a court, offer many advantages ; if made of wood, 
the material should be solid. Were we now to recom- 
mence rabbit-keeping, we would contrive a hutch whose 
top should be thatched with straw and reeds, to avoid all 
sudden chills, as well as bakings and broilings from the 
noontide sun. Of course, all sorts of drippings from eaves, 
draughts of air, and inundations from bad drainage, should 
be placed out of the possibility of annoying the rabbits. 
Many stocks, unfortunately, ere constantly exposed to all 
these evils. Their owners then complain that they do 
not succeed, and lay all the fault of the failure to 
the poor, good-for-nothing, troublesome,^ and tender 
creatures. 

"For this reason, hutches should never stand on the 
level of the ground ; they should be raised at least a few 
inches (though a foot or two is better), either on legs or 
benches. The wood of which they are constructed ought 
to be thick, more for the sake of warmth than for strength ; 




SECTION OF A TWO-TIER RABBIT HUTCH. 



BABBIT HUTCHES. 45 

for if the rabbits do happen to gnaw them, ten to one it is 
done more for the want of dry food and an irresistible 
craving after it, than for mischief's sake. The dimensions 
will vary according to circumstances, and every amateur 
will suit his own convenience ; but no hutch to contain a 
single full-grown rabbit, ought to be less than a good yard 
square in area. The depth is of less consequence. 

We now give a wood-cut of a form of hutch which has 
many advantages, and which is useful where a large stock 
is kept, because it is capable of being repeated to any 
extent in length, like a row of houses, and also, as the 
annexed figure shows, may be constructed with a couple of 
stories or more. The first, or false bottom (2), is a frame- 
work of strong splines, with a sufficient interval between 
them to allow the urine and small fragments of offal to 
pass through. About an inch beneath this first bottom is 
a second (1), of wood, covered with zinc. It is fixed with 
a gentle slope from back to front, to aid the escape of the 
urine to the gutter, which will be conveyed to a pail (7) 
by means of a tube (6), which communicates with the 
inclined bottom of each hutch. This bottom ought to be 
movable, slipping in a groove, in order that it may be 
more easily cleansed. To avoid all likelihood of infection, 
the bucket which receives the urine should be carefully 
emptied twice a day, and well rinsed out ; for the urine 
of the rabbit is the sole cause of any offensive smell which 
may emanate from a hutch. The door of the hutch (5) is 
a frame of wire- work, suspended at the top by a couple of 
hinges, and opening at the bottom. It is kept shut by a 
hook or a button. Doors like these are easy to open, and 
allow a convenient means of changing the litter, which 



46 THE RABBIT. 

requires to be removed from time to time. If preferred, 
however, tlie door may go to slip in a groove, or to open 
at the side ; but the former plan is altogether the best. 
Each hutch should be furnished with a little rack, fixed 
against one of the sides, to prevent the rabbits from wast- 
ing their food; for, like other of our domestic animals, 
they will reject the provender which they have once trod- 
den and blown upon. In courts, a little rack on the model 
of a sheep rack is not only a pretty toy, but a useful arti- 
cle of furniture. At the back a little trough or manger 
should be fixed, to hold the bran and corn which is desir- 
able for all, but more especially for nursing-does. The 
troughs for hutches in which weanling rabbits are kept 
should be very narrow, to prevent the little ones from get- 
ting into them. 

Besides the hutches destined for does, there should be 
one of larger dunensions for the buck, not only to accom- 
modate his robuster proportions, but to allow a doe to 
spend the night with him conveniently. 

*' This matter of rabbitry," observes Mr. Allen, in his 
" Eural Architecture," "and its various explanations, may 
be considered by the plain, matter-of-fact man, as below 
the dignity of people j^ursuing the useful and money-making 
business of life. Yery possible. But many boys — for 
whose benefit they are chiefly introduced — and men even, 
may do worse than to spend their time in such apparent 
trifles. It is even better than going to a horse-race. It is 
better even than going to a trotting match, where /a5^772en, 
as well 2,^ fast horses, congregate. It is better, too, than a 
thousand other places where boys want to go when they 
have nothing to interest them at home. 



RABBIT HUTCHES. 47 

One half of the farmers' bojs, who, discontented at 
home, leave it for something more congenial to their feel- 
ings and tastes, do so simply because of the excessive dul- 
ness and want of interest in objects to attract them there, 
and keep them contented. Those who have been well 
and indulgently, as well as methodically, trained, may look 
back and see the influence which all such little things had 
upon their early thoughts and inclinations ; and thus realize 
the importance of providing for the amusements and pleas- 
ures of children in their early years. The dovecote, the 
rabbitry, the poultry - yard, the sheep-fold, the calf- pen, 
the piggery, the young colt of a favorite mare, the yoke of 
yearling steers, or a fruit tree which they have planted 
and nursed, and called it, or the fruit it bears, their 
Qwn — anything, in fact, which they can call theirs — are 
so many objects to bind boys to their homes, and hallow 
it with a thousand nameless blessings and associations, 
known only to those who have been its recipients. Heav- 
en's blessings be on the family homestead!" 

We will now present the elevation and floor plan of 
Mr. Eodman's rabbitry, from Mr. Allen's work, together 
with the front and rear views of the hutches within them. 

No. 1 is the gable end elevation of the building, with a 
door and window. 

Ko. 2 is the main floor plan, or living-room for the 
rabbits. 

Explanation. — A, the doe's hutches, with nest boxes 
attached. B, hutches three feet long, with movable par- 




Xo. I.— GABLE E>7D ELEVATION. 




No. II.— MAIN FLOOR PLAN. 



(48) 



BABBIT HUTCHES. 49 

titions for the young rabbits ; tbe two lower liutcbes are 
used for the stock bucks. C, a tier of grain boxes on tlie 
floor for feeding tbe rabbits — tbe covers sloping out 
towards tbe room. D, small trap-door, leading into the 
manure cellar beneath. E, large trap- door, leading into 
the root cellar. F, troughs for leading off urine from rear 
of hutches into the manure cellar at K, K. Gr, wooden 
trunk, leading from chamber above No. 3, tlxrough this 
into manure cellar. H, trap opening into manure cellar. 
' I, stairs leading into loft No. 3, with hinged trap-door 
over head ; when open, it will turn up against the wall, 
and leave a passage to clear out the hutches. 

ISToTE. — The grain boxes are one foot high in front, and 
fifteen inches at the back, with sloping bottoms and sloping 
covers. The floors of the hutches have a slope of two inches 
back. The hutches are furnished, at the back of the floor, 
with pieces of zinc, to keep them free from the drippings 
from above. The hutches are sixteen inches high, three 
feet long, and two feet deep. 

The foregoing plans and explanations might perhaps be 
sufS.cient for the guidance of such as wish to construct a 
rabbitry for their own use ; but as a complete arrangement 
of all the rooms which may be conveniently appropriated 
to this object, to make it a complete thing, may be accept- 
able to the reader, we conclude, even at the risk of pro- 
lixity, to insert the upper loft, and cellar apartments, with 
which we have been furnished ; hoping that our j^outhful 
friends will set themselves about the construction of a 
branch of rural employment so home-attaching in its 
associations. 

3 



LID 



t-L-i— I ! ! ' I ' I I 



No. III. — LOFT, OE GAEEET. 




No. IV. — CELLAE. 



RABBIT HUTCHES. » 51 

No. 3 is the loft or cliamber story, next above the main 
floor. 

Explanation. — A, place for storing hay. B, stairs 
leading from below. C, room for young rabbits. D, trap- 
door into trunk leading to manure cellar. E, partition 
four feet high. This allows of ventilation between the 
two windows, in summer, which would be cut off, were 
the partition carried all the way up. 

No. 4 is the cellar under the rabbitry. 

Explanation. — A, manure cellar. B, root cellar. C, 
stairs leading to first, or main floor. • D, stairs leading 
outside. E, "^dndow — lighting both rooms of cellar. 

Ko. 5 is a front section of rabbit hutches, eight in num- 
ber, two in a line, four tiers high, one above another, ^Yiih 
wire-screened doors, hinges, and buttons for fastening. 
A, the grain trough, is at the bottom. 

Wo. 6 is the floor section of the hutches, falling, as before 
mentioned, two inches from front to rear. A, is the door 
to lift up, for cleaning out the floors. B, is the zinc plate, 
to carry off the urine and running wash of the floors. C, 
is the trough for carrying off this offal into the manure 
cellars, through the trunk, as seen in No. 2. 

No. 7 is a rear section of hutches, same as in No. 5, with 
the waste trough at the bottom leading into the trench 



52 



THE RABBIT. 



before described, with tlie cross section, Ko. 8, before 
described in 'No. 6. 

A, a grated door at tbe back of tbe biitcli, for ventila- 
tion in summer, and covered witli a tliin board in winter. 



■iii'iiiiii.'iiiii'iii iiiii.iiiiiii ii I :i-!HiMiii!iiipii'Mii!i'iHi. 'iMMi rdiii'.iiiiii'Hiij ;^' 







:iiii|iiiii(?;t^ 



B. a flap-door, four inches wide, wliich is raised for clean- 
ing out the floor ; under this door is a space of one inch, 
for passing out the urine of the rabbits. 0, are buttons 



EABBIT niTTCHES. 



63 



for fastening the doors. D, the backs of the bed-rooms, 
without any passage out on back side. 

When rabbits are kept on a large scale, the hutches are 
assembled in one inclosure or building, which should be 




iiiiiiiiilili'il!li|lil,'!ii|llllllllHiillliiiliiillliiiii!i||!||||i;iiiii\\\^ 

covered with a roof and surrounded with walls to secure 
it from the weather, and the depredations of cats, rats, and 
other vermin. It is desirable that the inclosure be paved 
with square tiles; which should have their joints well 



64 THE RABBIT. 

closed with cement, in order to prevent all leakage of 
urine or slops beneath the pavement. This accident is 
one of the causes most likely to engender disease amongst 
the stock. The reason is plain : the earth on which the 
pavements rest becomes sodden with liquid filth, an un- 
pleasant smell is constantly exhaled, and whatever cleanli- 
ness may be observed above ground, beneath is a fertile 
source of epidemic maladies, which will go on increasing 
from month to month, and will sooner or later cause serious 
injury. In this inclosure rows of hutches are ranged one 
or more stories high. The first row will touch the wall ; 
a passage will be left between that and the next row, and 
so on, till the inclosure is full, when you have a series of 
parallel passages and rows of hutches, allowing free ven- 
tilation and easy access of the persons who tend them. 

In sach an establishment, a constant renewal of air is a 
matter of the first necessity, which may be insured by 
fixing in the wall small grated Avindows opposite each 
other. If unpleasant smells are perceived, on entering in 
the morning, it is a hint to the rabbit-keeper to look to his 
litter and his ventilation. Hutches that are too small and 
too closely crowded together — that are. cold and damp, or 
dirty and foetid — are suf&cient in themselves to bring on 
all the diseases to which rabbits are liable. Their result 
is loss of health, ophthalmia, want of appetite, diarrhoen, 
pot-belly, rot, mange and death. In the first stage of these 
disorders, something may be done by vigorous sanitary 
measures of cleanliness and ventilation, with judicious 
feeding and disinfection by means of chloride of lime. 
Eabbits are naturally of a robust constitution, and are but 
slightly liable to be attacked by small ailments ; but when 



RABBIT HUTCHES. DO 

tliej do become diseased, we maj be sure tliat tlie e^dl is 
of serious consequence. 

We next give tlie figure of an independent hutch with 
two apartments, which has been found very useful to con- 
tain a doe and her weanhng young, before they are old 
and strong enough to join the other fatting rabbits in the 
court. It is also useful for the young beginner who is 
making his first trial with two or thi'ee half-grown indi- 
viduals of the sort of which he fancies. It is easily moved 
under shelter or into the open air, easily tended and cleaned 
out, and not costly to make. 




TWO-KOWED HUTCH. 



Kos. 1 and 2 are the drainers, the second twice as large 
as the first, communicating with a shding-door D, which 
can be opened or shut at pleasure. At each end is also a 
door. The roof K, K, in separate pieces, is on one side a 
wooden ILd, moving on hinges at the top, and available 
either to put in food or hay, or to catch the animals within. 
T, T^ are small troughs in front, for the reception of oats, 



66 THE RABBIT. 

pollard, or peas. A little rack may be added at the back 
part ; and an iron handle at each end, or at H, will enable 
a couple of persons to lift it from place to place with ease. 
It stands upon legs to raise it from the damp ground, and 
to keep mice from getting in and stealing the grain. The 
floor is pierced with holes to let the urine escape ; other 
ordure can be removed through the gap at the bottom, 
into which the troughs are inserted, and which may also 
be contrived to admit a false bottom, like that of a bird- 
cage, but perforated, which every morning may be cleaned 
and scraped, besides being sprinkled with sand or straw. 
The dimensions of this hutch will greatly depend upon 
the room which the amateur has at command ; but he will 
bear in mind, that the less cramped his pets are in their 
lodging, the better they will thrive. 



SELECTION OF STOCK. 

HOW TO COMMENCE RABBIT-BEEEDIN"G. 

"We again call to our aid tlie little treatise on the rabbit 
of Mr. Delamer. 

"To begin rabbit-keeping," says the author, "there are 
two modes of obtaining stock, which the amateur has the 
choice of adopting." This is in England. " The first plan 
is to purchase full-grown animals, a buck and as many 
does as may be required, and to let them breed once. 
Some persons are so little disposed to wait for the produce, 
that they will buy a doe or two far advanced with young, 
in order to see her progeny arrive as early as possible 
into the world. The second mode is to obtain one or two 
litters of young rabbits, after they are faiiiy weaned, at 
about nine or ten weeks old, and to tend them, and keep 
them, and to feed them up, till they are arrived at an 
age capable of being productive. Having ourselves repeat- 
edly tried these two modes at different times of our life, 
we unhesitatingly recommend the second for preference, 
for the following reasons : — 

In the first place, whoever sets about keeping any spe- 
cies of domestic bird or animal for the first time, will have 
a great many little details to learn, which will be most 
easily acquired by the observation of individuals sufficiently 

3* (67) 



58 THE EABBIT. 

advanced in life to do witliout the care of tlieir parents, 
and also immature as not to require quite yet the fulfilment 
of the great law of nature, — "increase and multiply." 
There will be nothing beyond themselves to attend to. 
We need only hint at the many points of health, dirt, hab- 
its, and peculiarities both of breeds, individuals, and sexes, 
with which the amateur will thus become practically 
acquainted, and which will render him more competent 
for the management of his pets when they come to have 
offspring in their turn. It is also a more economical plan, 
requiring less outlay, and less liable to loss. Quite young 
rabbits, of any ordinary kinds, can be bought both on the 
continent and in England for a few shillings. In case of 
failure, deaths are of less consequence ; in the event of 
success, superabundant males, and ugly and unpromising 
females, will always be useful to make their appearance on 
the table. But to buy full-grown does that have already 
reared two or three litters, of handsome appearance, and 
probably the favorites of their owner, the purchaser must 
expect to oj^en his purse-strings, especially if he applies to 
a respectable dealer ; a disrespectable one might possibly 
sell him, at a low price, a doe, which, though a good-look- 
ing animal, may have some unseen but serious defect ; 
such as an invincible propensity to eat her young, or lurk- 
ing symptoms of pot-belly and rot. Another point should 
not be forgotten : some does, which have proved excellent 
mothers with their old master, if changed to fresh quarters 
(particularly if they have to travel far) when near their 
time of kindling, and tended upon by unaccustomed hands, 
and gazed at by strange faces, will not do well in their 
new abode. They are apt to make an imperfect nest, to 



SELECTION OF STOCK. 59 

neglect their young, and even to kill tliem ; and this habit 
once begun, is ever afterwards to be apprehended. 

All these various mishaps, which have disgusted many 
a young beginner, are avoided by stocking the court or 
the hutches with young individuals, which can be selected 
from, thinned out, or exchanged, till the amateur has got 
a stud to his mind. All the males, be it observed, must 
be secluded as soon as they are four or five months old. 

K, after the foregoing caution, it be still determined to 
begin with a stock of full-grown animals, the points to be 
insisted on are, in the doe, teats visibly in a healthy and 
natural state, plump and swelled with milk if the term of 
pregnancy is advanced, or she has already littered ; the 
head, with reference to the length of the muzzle and the 
breadth and development of the occiput, should form a 
sort of wedge ; ears long, broad, and fine ; chest expanded ; 
legs strong, and wide apart. As far as profit and fecundity 
are concerned, a doe ought to bring forth not less than 
eight at each birth on an average. If she constantly pro- 
duces less, it will be advisable to change her, even although 
she may be young and in good health ; for it is an acknow- 
ledged fact that all individuals are not equally suited for 
reproduction. 

The buck is at his best from one to five years of age ; 
the doe, from eight months to four years : of course, care 
will be taken to see that they are not pot-bellied. Hard 
and well - pelleted dung is a certain indication of good 
health. It would be very convenient if there were unfail- 
ing signs, as in oxen, sheep, and horses, by which the 
exact age of a rabbit, up to a given period, could be ascer- 
tained ; but all that can be done is, to distinguish vaguely 



60 THE RABBIT. 

an old one from a young one. The least equivocal symp- 
toms of old age are, the general solidity and thickness of 
the skeleton, especially at the joints, as far as they can be 
felt by handling ; the development of the belly to a con- 
siderable amount of obesity ; and finally, the length and 
thickness of the nails. 

Breeding does, when kept in hutches, are much better 
each in a hutch to herself, than inhabiting one common 
dwelling, however roomy it may be. When a number of 
does live in the same hutch, the consequences are some- 
times quite as unfortunate as if the buck were in company 
with them. If a doe kindles, and leaves her little ones a 
moment to feed, the other does immediately crowd round 
the nest, through an instinct of curiosity, peep into, and 
not seldom disturb it with their fore paws. The mother 
rushes up to drive the other does away ; a battle ensues ; 
and half the little rabbits are either killed or wounded for 
life. The pregnant does which take part in these skir- 
mishes, generally suffer abortion in consequence of their 
excitement, and the blows which they give and receive in 
the combat. Their owner may read the Kiot Act after- 
wards, but the mischief is done. 



VARIETIES OF RABBITS. 

The Eabbit is tliouglit to have been originally a native 
of Spain, but lias been common in the rest of Europe for 
ages. By domestication the colors of this species, as of 
all others which have been reclaimed by man, are very 
various : some individuals being black, blue, yellow, white, 
gray, lead color, and mixed in blotches of black and white, 
blue and white, &c. ; one variety, called the Angora Rab- 
bits, is furnished with long silky hair, something like the 
Angora Goat. 

The wild rabbits are only mentioned here to warn the 
reader against supposing that their young, if caught at an 
early age, will be of any use to bring up in a domestic 
state. Of all the troublesome tasks a rabbit-fancier can 
undertake, is the attempt to rear a nest of young rabbits 
which have been taken from the warren, the field, or the 
down. TVe speak on this matter from experience. The 
difference of disposition is so immense and radical, that 
practical people are inclined to believe the two races to be 
derived from a distinct stock and origin. " Fancy rabbits," 
says Mr. Rogers, in his useful little treatise, '' are not, as 
is generally supposed, the result of an improvement in the 
English breed of rabbits ; but were originally brought from 
Tartary, Persia, and Asia Minor ; and have been made the 
means of improving the domestic breeds in this country. 

(61) 



62 THE RABBIT. 

They require more warmth than the common English 
domestic rabbits ; and thrive best when kept in an atmos- 
phere the warmth of which varies from temperate to sum- 
mer heat." 

Domestic rabbits may be divided into four general lead- 
ing varieties : the Small Common Tame Rabbits^ the Large 
Tame Rabbits^ the Lop-eared sorts^ and the Angolas. 
Between each of these there are numerous half-breeds. 
Angora rabbits are distinguished by having long silky 
hair ; their colors are mostly either pure white, or a mix- 
ture of black and white, or gray and white. Their fur is 
valuable when the skins can be obtained in considerable 
quantity ; but they are delicate in constitution, less prolific, 
and many prejudiced persons object to eating them, because, 
they say, they resemble cats. Notwithstanding which. 
Angora rabbits are very pretty creatures, and well deserve 
the attention of those who think more about beauty and 
amusement than profit. We once saw, some fifteen years 
since, quite a large number of these beautiful little Angora 
Eabbits, in a yard of the late H. Watson, Esq., of ISTew 
Windsor, near Hartford, Conn. They were very tame 
and quiet, and made quite a handsome show. 

The common small farm rabbits are the nearest in size 
and appearance to the warren sorts. These are black, 
white, parti-colored, blue or slate colored, and brown or 
wild colored. They are hardy and prolific, suited for 
people living in a blustering climate, with only a limited 
supply of provender at command ; they suffer less from 
neglect than the others, — though the less of that misfor- 
tune they have to undergo, the better. They are cheaper 
to buy, and, in short, are just the stock for a boy to begin 




ANGOLA RABBIT. 



(63) 



VARIETIES OF RABBITS. 65 

witli, till Ills experience entitles him to aspire to keep the 
fancy breeds. On the table, their flavor is as good as any, 
though thej make a less magnificent dish when served np 
whole. 

The large variety of tame rabbit is colored mncli the 
same as the former, except that it is more likely to pro- 
duce albinos, — ^white individuals, with no coloring pigment 
in their eyes, and thence called "red-eyed" rabbits, be- 
cause the blood circulating in the fine transj)arent vessels 
gives them that tint. White lop-eared rabbits in general 
have black eyelids and common eyes. "With skilful man- 
agement and liberal feeding, the large variety may be 
made to attain the weight of twenty pounds. That, or a 
trifle over, is the maximum. French Flanders has long- 
been celebrated for, and still produces, admirable speci- 
mens of this variety. It can hardly be called a fancy 
rabbit, since it has not the lop ears which distinguish 
those breeds. It is merely an exaggeration or an enlarge- 
m.ent of the smaller kind, though an accurate eye will ob- 
serve that the proportions of its form are somewhat more 
elono;ated. 



FA-I^CY RA.BBITS. 



LOP-EAR RABBITS. 

The lop-ear rabbits are the kinds wMcli fanciers delight 
to revel in. The ears, instead of rising from the head, 
with a tendency and inclination backward, like the com- 
mon or wild variety, fall more or less to the side, as if 
they had been folded and pressed down artificiallj, form- 
ing, more or less, decidedly pendant ears. Some few 
varieties of goats and sheep exhibit a similar malforma- 
tion, for so it may be fairly called. 

In rabbits, the first approximation to this peculiarity is 
shown by the half -lop, where one ear falls downwards or 
frontwise, and the other remains in its natural position, as 
seen in the Frontispiece. The difference in the ears is very 
imsightly, and is a great blemish in a fancier's eye ; because 
the ears of all foncy rabbits ought to be exactly alike, 
both in their shape, and in the way they point or fall. 
Otherwise, it is as if a man had one short arm and one 
long one, or one half of his face with a different sort of 
countenance from the other half; and yet, a half-lop doe, 
if her other qualities are good, is not to be hastily dis- 

(GO) 



To FANCY EABBITS. 

carded; because slie may, if judiciously coupled, produce 
a few approved specimens in almost every litter. For i1 
is curious that, with fancy rabbits, when both the parents 
are perfectly formed, have model ears, and are handsomelj' 
marked, their progeny do not invariably turn out the 
same ; while from imperfect parents, if they have good 
blood in their veins, there is a considerable chance of rear- 
ing at least a small number of superior young. Rabbit- 
breeding, in such a case, acquires the same sort of interest 
as the florist enjoys when he hopes to find in a bed of 
seedling dahlias or carnations a first-rate specimen or two, 
that shall reward him for all his patience and expense. 
Still, the chances of success are greater when both the 
parents have the desired characteristics. 

The oar-lop is the next stage of deflection, when the 
ears extend horizontally outwards on each side, forming 
a line that is more or less straight, giving the idea of a 
pair of oars which a waterman is resting out of the water 
in his row-locks, while having a gossip as he is sculling 
along. The term "oar-lop" is sufficiently descriptive. 

The horn-lop rabbit has ears which descend obliquely 
from the sides of the head, somewhat like the " cow witJi 
the crumpled horn," in the immortal " House that Jack 
built." 

Flat-lops are the most natural, and therefore the most 
perfect and valuable, rabbits, in a fancier's estimation. 
The ears of the animal, instead of pointing upwards and 
backwards, take a sudden turn downwards and forwards, 
immediately from the crown of the head. 

' The dew-lap is a point not to be neglected in the appenr 
ance of a fancy rabbit. It is sometimes compared to the j 




DEWLAP RABBIT. 



(71) 



THE RABBIT. < i:! 

dew-lap of a bull, or to tlie pendant skin, hardly to be 
called a poucli, wliicli hangs under the chin in the African 
goose ; but is really more like the double chin one some- 
times sees ornamenting the neck of a well-fed old gentle- 
man, or a full-blown matron, v/hose circumstances are 
easy, and whose labors are slight. It has the appearance 
of a goitre^ without its unseemliness, — though goitred la- 
dies are not without their admirers. The rabbit looks as 
if it had put on a fur tippet of the same material as its 
own, by way of a comforter, serving also as a cushion for 
the chin to rest upon, when "Bunny" is enjoying its 
afternoon's doze. A thick dew -lap is considered a great 
beauty and recommendation, but it is only slightly visible 
till the animal has arrived at its adult state. 



MAKKINaS: THE SMUT AND THE 
CHAIN - CAKKIAaE. 

Other points in fancy rabbits are more conventional 
and variable, and depend more upon individual taste. 
Peculiarities which are the rage to-day, may be only coldly 
looked upon to-morrow. Amongst these are those varie- 
ties of the animal which are discriminated by the combi- 
nation of colors respectively belonging to them. "\Ye 
quote a paragraph from Mr. Eogers : — 

" The fur of fancy rabbits may be blue, or rather lead- 
color and white, or black and white, or tawny and white, 
that is, tortoise-shell-colored. But it is not of so much 
importance what colors the coat of a rabbit displays, as it 
is that those colors should bo arranged in a particular 
4 



74 FANCY RABBITS. 

manner, forming imaginary fignres, or fancied resemblan- 
ces of certain objects. Hence the peculiarities of tbeir 
markings have been denoted by distinctive designations. 
What is termed the " blue butterfly smut " was for some 
time considered the most valuable of fancy rabbits. It is 
thus named on account of having bluish or lead-colored 
spots on either side of the nose, considered as having 
some resemblance to the spread wings of a butterfly, what 
may be termed the groundwork of the rabbit's face being 
white. A black and white rabbit may also have the face 
marked in a similar manner, constituting a "black butter- 
fly smut." 

"But a good fancy rabbit must likewise have other 
marks, without which it cannot be considered as a perfect 
model of its kind. There should be a black or blue 
patch of fur on its back^ called the saddle ; the tail must 
be of the same color Avith the back and snout ; while the 
legs should be all white ; and there ought to be dark 
stripes on both sides of the body in front, passing back- 
wards to meet the saddle, and uniting on the top of the 
shoulders, at the part called the withers in a horse. These 
stripes form what is termed ' the chain,' having some- 
Avhat the appearance of a chain or collar hanging round 
the neck. 

" The beauty and consequent Avorth of a fancy rabbit, 
however, depend a good deal on its shape, or what is termed 
its ' carriage.' A rabbit is said to have a good carriage 
when its back is finely arched, rising full two inches above 
the top of its head, which must be held so low as for the 
muzzle and the points of the ears to reach almost to the 
ground." 



SALABLE VALUE. 

Mr. Eogers says : — " The price of a fancy rabbit, like 
that of any other curiosity, must depend upon its display- 
ing more or less qualities which have been considered as 
constituting the perfection of its kind. Considerable sums 
have no doubt been sometimes paid for particularly fine 
specimens of fancy rabbits. Well-bred rabbits may fre- 
.quently be purchased at reasonable rates when young; 
and if well tended and managed, they may afterwards 
prove very valuable." Prize rabbits have been sold at 
five pounds sterling ; and even eighteen guineas have been 
paid for a prize rabbit. 

"To all this," says i?., in the Cultivator^ "I am well 
aware, the question will arise with many of your readers — 
Old bono ? And the conclusion as definitively follow — 
' It luonH payJ Perhaps not ; and yet I believe that were 
things tried on a small scale, and a small club formed for 
the purpose of exhibition and experiment, that it would 
become, to its members, a source of much more interest 
than they could now suppose. As opportunities will now 
become numerous of purchasing rabbits from the best 
London breeders, I will give you the following names : — 
Dr. Handy, just over "Waterloo Bridge ; Mr. Payne, 142 
White Chapel ; Mr. Bailey, of the Star Coflfee-House, 
Union street, out of Bishopsgate ; Mrs. Webster, Pleasant 

(75) 



76 PROPERTIES REQUIRED FOR PRIZES. 

Place, Stamford street, Blackfriars Eoad, over "Waterloo 
Bridge. From these breeders other addresses can be ob- 
tained, and stocks examined." We may add, also, that 
very superior specimens of the lop-eared rabbits may bo 
obtained, in this country, of F. Eotcb, Esq., and E. H. 
Yan Eensselaer, of Morris (formerly Butternuts), Otsego 
County, New York. 



PROPERTIES REQUIRED FOR 
PRIZES. 

In competing for prizes in England, there are seven 
properties required :— First. Length of ears — the longer, 
the better. Second. The width of ears. Third. Carriage 
of the ears — ^. e., the way they fall. They ought to be 
nearly perpendicular in their fall— that is, so as to drop 
close to the outer corner of the eye. Fourth. The size 
and form of the eye — the larger and fuller, the better. 
Fifth. Color of the fur. These are blue and white, yellow 
and white, gray and white tortoise-shell, black and white, 
gray, black, blue, and white, with red eyes. Sixth. Sha])e. 
Of the general beauty of form, any common observer can 
judge. High forehead and broad poll are required for 
first-class animals. Seventh. Weight. At a little over 
seven months, the heaviest are from ten to twelve pounds. 
They are not permitted to compete for j^rizes beyond 
eight months old. 

A correspondent of the Cottage Gardener states hirnscli 
to be a rabbit-fancier of thirty years' standing, and that he 
bred the longest-eared rabbit ever known. He has her 



THE EABBIT. 77 

(for it was a cloe) preserved in a glass case. Her ears, 
from tip to tip, measured twenty-two inches, and each ear 
in width was five inches and three-eighths. Her weight 
was eighteen pounds. 



FEEDING AND KILLINGS FOK THE 
TABLE. 

The flavor of tame rabbits is improved bj feeding 
them, a few days before they are killed, on aromatic 
plants, of which the list is numerous. Some people also 
fill the belly of the rabbit, after it is killed and drawn, 
■^dth a wisp of thyme, marjoram, and sage. The usual 
mode of killing tame rabbits, by giving them a blow be- 
hind the ear, is faulty, and liable to the objection that a 
large quantity of blood coagulates about the place which 
is struck. It is better to kill them exactly like fowls, by 
cutting the jugTilar artery, and then to hang them up by 
the hind legs. In that position the blood drains away, 
and the flesh is rendered beautifully white. The skins, 
however, suffer, and sell for less if they are besmeared 
with blood. The cook's perquisite is thus diminished ; 
and, in rabbit-keeping on a large scale, the reduction of 
price would be of serious importance. 



CASTRATION. 

The contempt with, wliicli sTich small cattle as rabbits 
are usually regarded by practical people, is the cause why 
they are but rarely subjected to the operation of- castra- 
tion, which, in their case, is performed with greater ease, 
and even with more satisfactory results, than on oxen, 
sheep, and pigs. AYe have eaten caponized rabbits ; and 
they were far superior, in size, flavor, and fatness, to what 
they would have been if suffered to remain in their natu- 
ral state. We would advise every rabbit-keeper to cas- 
trate, at the age of three or four months, every young 
buck which he does not intend to dispose of or retain for 
breeding purposes. Besides the rapid increase in size, a 
great advantage gained is the conversion of a mischievous 
into an inoffensive animal. Instead of being often a dan- 
gerous enemy to the does, to the young ones, and to the 
other bucks (for the males, if not so treated, will engage 
in deadly combats when they meet), it may then be suf- 
fered to associate indiscriminately with the others, without 
fear or apprehension. 

The mode of castrating rabbits is very simple. It is 
performed by seizing Avith the thumb and the two first 
fingers of the left hand one of the testicles, which the 
animal will endeavor to draw up internally. When the 
operator has succeeded in grasping it, he divides the skin 

(T8) 



THE RABBIT. 79 

longitudinally mth. a sharp knife, presses outwards the 
oval body whicli lie has seized, draws it out, and throws 
it awaj. After repeating the performance on the other 
side, he anoints the wounds with a little fresh hog's lard, 
or he closes them by a stitch with a needle and thread — 
or perhaps he leaves the cure to nature. When the oper- 
ation is skilfully performed, the healing process is rapidly 
completed ; and it not only disposes the ammal to carry 
a great deal more flesh and fat, but the skin also is con- 
sider ablv increased in value. 



DISEASES. 

THEIR PREVENTION AND CURE. 

*' Amongst rabbits, as with poultry, diseases are more 
easily prevented than cured. We have seen advertised 
in the newspapers specific medicines for aihng rabbits. 
* Eoup and Condition Pills,' and ' The Poultry Eestora- 
tivC' — a certain Cure for all Diseases,' may probably be 
useful tonics in the case of fowls ; but with the delicate 
species of quadruped which is the subject of the present 
treatise, negligence and mismanagement are so fearfully 
punished, that it strongly behoves the amateur to take 
care that his arrangements and mode of feeding be such 
as to give him the least amount possible of disease to 
deal with. The loss of whole litters at once, or even a 
general mortality amongst his entire stock, will often be the 
consequence of carelessness and want of judgTQent. Many 
and many a small farmer and market gardener has made 



80 DISEASES. 

attempts to keep rabbits, and lias soon given them up 
again, in utter disgust at the complete want of success 
wMch. has attended his efforts. A few plain hints might 
have saved him the disappointment, and have enabled 
him to conduct his experiment with a more satisfactory 
and profitable result. On this account, we think it right 
to give a few short paragraphs on rabbit disease a place in 
our practical essay." 

Bedding. — " Thus, the quality of the litter given to do- 
mestic rabbits is a very essential point in rearing them 
successfully. The bad state of that is the cause of many 
diseases to which they are liable. The straw used for 
this purpose ought to be thoroughly dry, and frequently 
renewed. Every three weeks, the entire mass of their 
litter should be changed, especial care being taken to have 
it done a fortnight before the doe kindles, and a fortnight 
after the birth of the little ones. It is a good plan, during 
the interval, to cover the old litter with a sprinkling of 
fresh straw from time to time." 

Injudicious disturbance, also, will sometimes have as 
fatal an effect as a severe epidemic. "VYe have seen that 
it is absolutely necessary not to be too much in a hurry to 
look at the young ones, for at least a week after their 
birth. It should also be remembered that the rabbit is 
naturally an animal of nocturnal, or we ought rather to 
say crepuscular, that is, twilight habits. It is therefore 
an error to believe that it is requisite to give them a sub- 
stantial meal at noon ; on the contrary, nature and obser- 
vation indicate that they ought to be left in quiet at that 
hour, when they are almost always in a state of repose, 
especially during summer. The best feeding-times are, 



THE KABBIT. 81 

very early indeed in the morning, and about sunset in the 
evening. They usually eat with the greatest appetite 
during the night." 

Quiet. — However, one little act of disturbance may be 
ventured upon with due precaution. A few days after 
the birth of the rabbits, it will be advisable to ascertain 
whether their mother has deposited them in a dry spot ; 
for if their nest is at all damp, they will infallibly perish. 
In such a case, the nest must be cautiously moved, in a 
lump, and shifted to the driest corner of the hutch. Ex- 
perience has proved that this operation, if judiciously exe- 
cuted, caused no injury whatever to the young, and also 
gave no offence to the mother ; but, after all, the expe- 
dient must be used with caution. The inconvenience 
■ which compels the rabbit-keeper to have recourse to it 
ought to be avoided by cleansing the hutches at regular 
periods, so that there shall be no necessity to intrude upon 
the privacy of the doe's nursery at the time when she is 
likely to be of a susceptible and jealous disposition. For 
this purpose, it is requisite to note accurately the date of 
the doe's visits to the buck, in order to be able to change 
the litter in good time, and also to remove a first set of 
young ones, when there is a prospect of their soon being 
followed by a second. 

Ophthalmia. — " Young are subject to a disease of the 
eyes, which is apt to attack them towards the end of their 
suckling, and which puts an end to them in a very short 
time. The disease is unknown to those who are scrupu- 
lous about the cleanliness and drainage of their hutches. 
It appears to be occasioned b}^ the putrid exlialations from 
filth o.nd urine in a decomposing state. In short, it is nei« 
4* 



82 DISEASES. 

tlier more nor less than ophthalmia, brought on by the 
caustic nature of ammonial vapor. When the malady is 
discovered in time, the young rabbits may sometimes be 
saved by transferring them into another hutch that is per- 
fectly clean, and well furnished with plenty of fresh 
straw." 

The Rot and Pot- Belly. — ^' The great cause of the short- 
ness of rabbits' lives in domesticity is their liability to the 
rot^ or liver-disease, produced by their being supplied v/ith 
too much green food. Dry food, in short, is the grand 
thing to insure success in rabbit-keeping. That peculiar 
quality of diet is so absolutely necessary to the animals' 
well-being, that ' DRY FOOD,' in capital letters, ought 
to be painted within sight of every rabbit menagerie, 
whatever may be its form, size, or importance. Even the 
wild races, in wet seasons, are found lying about dead, as 
if their warren had been stricken with pestilence. The 
rot is as fatal to rabbits as to sheep. Therefore a very ne- 
cessary precaution, which cannot be too strictly insisted 
on, is to avoid giving tame rabbits too great a quantity of 
green and succulent herbage, which not only causes nu- 
merous deaths from indigestion, but what is worse, is apt 
to bring on another disease, only of too common occur- 
rence, which is occasioned by the accumulation of an ex- 
cessive quantity of water in the abdomen and bladder, 
and which usually proves fatal. The patient, in fact, be- 
comes dropsical ; and even if apparently cured for a time, 
is so apt to suffer a relapse, that the wisest way is to part 
with the animal. Rabbits so diseased are said to be ^pot- 
bellied f and when they get to an advanced stage of the 
complaint, doctoring is of but little use, and generally of 



THE EABBIT. 83 

none at all. Common rabbits, in such, case, are hardly worth, 
the trouble of nursing. For fancy kinds of greater value, 
the attempt may be made ; but we mu.ch more strongly 
urge the observance of preventive than of remedial meas- 
ures. 

" The patients should be immediately ]3nt upon a drier 
diet. Pamper them wdth split peas, barley-meal; malt- 
combs, and oatmeal. Oak leaves, and the shoots of the 
tree, as food, are excellent. They should have hay, sound 
corn, and aromatic plants, such as thyme, sage, marjoram, 
&c. In fact, all rabbit-masters who have a garden, w^ill do 
w^ell to cultivate an extra-sized bed of sweet herbs, as the 
best apothecary's shop Avhich they can have recourse to in 
time of need. The whole family of umbelliferous plants 
appear to be both grateful and medicinal to the rabbit 
tribe ; even hemlock and fool's parsley, poisonous plants 
to many other animals, are welcome as occasional dainties 
to them ; hog-w^eed, or the wild perennial jDarsnip, has 
been recommended by Cobbett, wdth his usual force of 
natural eloquence. Garden parsnips and carrots are ex- 
cellent, both for their tops and roots ; . likewise fennel, 
parsley, and chervil. 

'' If the sick quadrupeds are kept to a regimen that is 
absolutely dry, a Utile may now and then be given them ; 
at all other times, it is absolutely a forbidden thing. But 
wetted herbage, we insist, even if only moistened with 
dew, is poison to rabbits. The best mode of avoiding 
danger is to cut their food the day before, and spread it 
out, in the sunshine or under shelter, to dry and wither. 
On the other hand, it ought not to be cut several da^'s 
beforehand ; for if thrown into a heap, and so left to heat, 



84 DISEASES. 

it is likely to prove equally injurious. Of course, all dis- 
eased individuals should be cai'efuUy separated from those 
that are in health. 

" The same prudential sanitary measure is imperative 
when rabbits are attacked by a sort of consumption, or 
' ro^,' which reduces them to the extreme of leanness, and 
they become covered with a contagious scabbiness, which 
is extremely difficult to cure. This disease, which attacks 
them when young, checks their growth, takes away their 
appetite, and at last causes them to die in violent convul- 
sions. If it is not arrested in time, it may soon spread 
throughout the whole of the stud. It is usually attributed 
to damp and superabundant moisture in various forms, 
which seem to be mortal enemies of the rabbit. As ;pot- 
helly^ or dropsy, is caused by a too succulent vegetable 
diet, so 'rot' is brought on by eating putrid greens, or 
even those that are in the 'heated' state of incipient fer- 
mentation. It is believed that the repeated indulgence in 
this kind of unnatural and unwholesome food produces 
the purulent pustules with which the unfortunate animal's 
liver is sometimes entirely covered, as well as engender- 
ing, we know not how, the parasitic creatures called 
flukes, or hydatids, that are found in the substance of the 
diseased liver. The remedies, with the addition of salt, 
are nearly the same both for ' pot-belly ' and ' rot ; ' in- 
deed, it is not very easy to distinguish them till after a 
somewhat advanced period. Flour of sulphur, sprinkled 
on the skin, has been recommended in case of mange or 
scab. The wisest way, however, is to prevent the further 
spreading of the contagious form of disease, by sacrificing 
at once -the animal that is attacked by it." 



THE RABBIT. 85 

Red Water. — Besides the former, there are a few mala- 
dies which only make their appearance in badly- attended 
and mismanaged studs, or during unusually fatal seasons ; 
such as red luater, produced by inflammation of the kid- 
neys and a highly febrile state ■ of the animal. High- 
colored urine is then voided, in its worst stage mingled 
with blood. Bad food, acrid and poisonous vegetables, or 
sudden chills, may either of them be the immeliiate cause 
of the complaint. The remedy will be, mild mucilaginous 
food, such as endive, dandelion, sow-thistle, lettuce (but 
not after it sends up its seed-stalk), with cooked potatoes 
and bran, besides a warm and cleanly lodging. 

TJie Snuffles. — " This is occasioned by catching a vio- 
lent cold in the head, and may degenerate into bronchitis 
and inflammation of the lungs. Comfortable shelter, and 
protection fromi. all draughts and wet, is the cure which 
common sense prescribes." 

Diarrlicm^ or undue looseness of the bowels, is the re- 
sult of eating too great a quantity of wet and acrid rub- 
bish. Dry food must be again the prescription ; add to it 
bread-crusts and the skins of baked potatoes. To avoid 
the evil, it should be particularly borne in mind that all 
changes of diet with a confined animal, especially from a 
drier to a moister — and in spring and autumn — should be 
gradualhj made. ISTo stock of any kind, not even of tran- 
sitions of regimen, ought ever to be given to the system 
of so nervous a creature as the rabbit is. 

Rare Cases. — " Human pathology and surgery has its 
chapter exclusively devoted to rare cases ; the same thing 
occurs with fowls and with rabbits. One of these is fur- 
nished by a correspondent of the Cottagp Gardener: — 



8G DISEASES. 

* On examining a rabbit of the lop-eared breed to-daj, I 
found one ear completely filled with a hard matter resem- 
bling scurf. On touching the ear, the rabbit screamed out. 
I then took as much of the hard stuff ofP as I could, and 
bathed with warm water ; after that, I greased the ear 
well. I took two pieces as large as a man's finger from 
the ear, which seemed to reach quite to the farthest ex- 
tremity.' Many others, no doubt, might be added ; but 
they are more valuable as curious facts, than as being of 
any great practical utility." — Delamer. 



(88) 







AMERICAN QRAY RABBIT. 

In tlie Natural History of the State of New York, by 
Dr. De Kay, we find a fall description and figure of the 
native Avild rabbit of this country, which we have copied 
from that work. 

This common and well-known species in the United 
States has been, until very recently, confounded with oth- 
ers. The following, by Schreber, which seems to have 
_ been overlooked by modern writers, applies remarkably 
Avell to our rabbit. Although misled by the accounts of 
previous naturalists, he appears to have confounded its 
history Avith the former species : — Cheeks full of thick 
hair. Ears thin externally, with few hairs, naked within, 
and when bent forward, do not reach the nose ; when 
bent backward, they reach the shoulder-blades. Eyes 
large and black, with four to five bristles above them. 
Whiskers mostly black ; some are white ; the longest ap- 
pears to reach beyond the head. Color in summer : — ears 
brownish, with a very narrow black border on the outer 
margin, of the same breadth of the tips, or becomes ef- 
flxccd ; brown cheeks, back, and sides ; fore and hind legs 
light brown externally, mixed with black ; all around the 
breech white. Feet full of short hair, of a light brown, 
unmixed with black, changing towards the inside to a 
gray white. Upper part of the tail like that of the back 

(89) 



90 AMERICAN GRAY RABBIT. 

(perhaps mixed vith black, as Pennant describes it black); 
beneath, white. Throat white ; lower part of the neck 
bright brown, mixed with Avhite ; chest and belly, inside 
of fore and hind legs, white color in winter, when it does 
not change, white. 

Its food consists of bark, grass, wild berries, &c. ; and 
in cultivated districts, it is said to enter gardens and de- 
stroy vegetables. Unlike its congeners, it does not confine 
itself to the woods, but is frequently found in open fields, 
or where there is a slight copse or underbrush. It does 
not burrow, like its closely allied species, the European 
rabbit, but makes its form, which is a slight depression in 
the ground, sheltered by some low shrub. It frequently 
resorts to a stone wall, or a heap of stones, or hollow tree? 
and sometimes to the burrow of some other animal. Its 
habits are nocturnal ; and they may often be seen in the 
morning, or early part of the forenoon, although in retired 
situations they have been seen at all times of the day. Its 
flesh, though black and dry, is well flavored, although in 
this respect it varies Avith the quality of its previous food. 
It breeds in this State, as I have been informed, three 
times in the season, producing from four to six at a birth. 
It is the smallest of the species found in this State, and so 
much resembles in its form the European rabbit, that the 
same popular name has been applied to it, although differ- 
ing in color and some of its habits. This, however, is of 
no consequence, for the name of American Gray Kabbit 
is sufS.ciently distinctive. 

It has a wide geographical range. It is found from 
New Hampshire to Florida, but its Western limits are not 
yet established. 



THE RABBIT. 93 

The autlior has noticed this rabbit on Staten Island, on 
Becrofb's Mountain, east of the city of Hudson, on the 
pine plains Avest of Albany, and also on the high-lands 
and plains of Saratoga. 



THE NOKTHEKN VAKYINGl HARE. 

" All the species of the genus Lepus hitherto discov- 
ered in America," remarks the editor of the Cabinet of 
Natural History, " have the habits of the Hare, though 
they are generally called Eabbits." We will at present 
confine our observations to the subject of our illustration, 
which has given rise to some diversity of opinion among 
naturalists, though it has long been known to hunters and 
fur-traders as diflerent from the common species. 

As was the case with almost all the American animals 
resembling those of the old continent, early naturalists 
considered it as identical with the analogous European 
species. The first description given of it in any detail is 
by Hearnc. " The varying hares are numerous, and ex- 
tend as far as latitude 72^ IST., and probably farther. They 
delight most in rocky and stony places, near the borders 
of woods, though many of them brave the coldest winters 
on entirely barren ground. In summer, they are nearly 
of the color of the English Avild rabbit, but in winter assume 
a most delicate white all over, except the tips of the ears, 
which are black. They are, Avhcn fall grown and in good 
condition, very large, many of them weighing fourteen 
or fifteen pounds." 

The dimensions of this species, on the authority of 



94 THE NORTHERN VARYING HARE. 

Bachman, vary from seventeen to twenty-five inclies. It 
is remarkable how two observers have so widely difiered 
in their accounts of the dhnensions of the same specimens. 
Bonaparte gives the total length at thirty-one inches ; 
Harlan's measurement of the same specimen makes it but 
sixteen inches. These statements may be reconciled, 
when we recollect that the latter measured from the speci- 
men when recent, and probably represented the distance 
from the nose to the extremity of the hind legs. 

The American Varying Hare appears to inhabit a great 
portion of North America, as it has been found in Vir- 
ginia, and as far North as 55°. It appears generally to 
frequent plains and low grounds, where it lives like the 
common hare, never burrowing, but does not resort to the 
thick woods. The variabilis of Europe, on the contrary, 
is described as always inhabiting the highest mountains, 
and never descending into the plains, except when forced 
to seek food, when the mountains are covered with snow. 
The American Hare is remarkably swift, never taking 
shelter when pursued, and is capable of taking astonishing 
leaps : Captain Lewis measured some of these, and found 
their length from eighteen to twenty-one feet. Warden, 
however, states that this species, when pursued, will re^ 
treat into hollow trees. 

They, like all the hares, are very prolific, the female 
having several litters a year, of five or six leverets at a 
litter. 

The voice of these animals is seldom or never heard, 
except when they are irritated or wounded, when they 
utter a loud, piercing cry, bearing some resemblance to 
that of a child in pain. We have been informed by an 



THE EABBIT. 95 

eye-witness, tliat lie saw an European buck rabbit attack 
a cat, and rip open its bowels by a single stroke of its 
kind claws. 

One of the most remarkable pecnliarities of this genns 
is tke difference of habits between some of the species, 
closely allied as tkey are in their physical appearance. 
Thus, the rabbit and the hare, although furnished with 
analogous organs, and mhabiting in many instances the 
same countries, manifest the greatest aversion for each 
other — a hatred which M. F. Cuvier asserts nothing can 
obliterate ; for, however nearly they assimilated in form or 
character, they never associate ; and, when they meet, a 
combat generally ensues^ which often terminates fatally to 
one of the parties. 

One striking point of dissimilarity between the hare 
and rabbit is, that whilst the hare merely forms a shallow 
hollow in the earth for her form or nest, the rabbit 
excavates deep and tortuous burrows. 

If taken young, the hare may be tamed and domesti- 
cated, and has been nursed by a cat. Sonnini, the natu- 
ralist, and Cowper, the poet, had hares in a com2Dlete state 
of domestication. Although exceedingly timid and watch- 
ful, the hare is capable of being domesticated, and even 
taught a variety of tricks. 

One was exhibited in London, some time since, Avhich 
could play on the tamborine, discharge a pistol, and per- 
form a variety of feats of as strange a character for an 
animal of so fearful disposition. 



COOKING KABBITS. 

Having in the foregoing pages given all the informa- 
tion we possess in regard to the selecting, breeding, and 
general management of the rabbit, we will now proceed 
to give a few recijDCS for cooking the same. 

Boiled Rahhit^ smotJiered with Onion Sauce. — They must 
be skewered and trussed, so as to come to table in a crouch- 
ing posture. Dust it with flour, as you would a boiled 
chicken, to make it come out the whiter. Tie it in a 
cloth ; if young, put it into boiling-hot water ; if old, into 
cold water. The time of boiling must be entirely regu- 
lated by the apparent age and tenderness of the rabbit. 
N. B. — Tomato instead of onion sauce is a much approved 
variation of this dish. 

While the rabbit is boiling, prepare your onion sauce 
thus : — Peel your onions, halve and quarter them, put 
them on in a sauce-pan in cold water, boil till perfectly 
soft, strain them from the water, and then braid them 
through a colander. To the pulp thus made add a lump 
of butter and some thick cream, with a little pepper and 
salt. Then make it just boil up, being careful that it 
does not burn, and pour it over the rabbit as it lies on it^ 
dish. Serve at the same time a piece of boiled white 
bacon to eat with it, and a tureen of melted butter. 

(96) 



THE RABBIT. 07 

Roast Rahhit. — A genuine Warren Recipe. — Make a 
force-meat of bread-crumbs, minced beef-suet, lemon-peel, 
nutmeg, pepper and salt, and a little lemon-thyme, if 
sweet herbs are approved. Beat up two eggs, and mix 
with, them, the whole into paste. Put this force-meat 
inside the rabbit, and sew it up, and skewer it into the 
proper form. Eub the outside of the rabbit over with 
butter, flour it a little, and stick on very thin slices of 
bacon by means of small skewers of iron wire. A French 
cook would lard them with a larding-needle. These slices 
of bacon will roast up till they are become quite crisp and 
dry ; the fat which oozes from them will keep the rabbit 
moist and juicy. Still, it ought to be well basted while 
roasting. Make a gravy with a small piece of beef (or 
the livers of rabbits, if they are not roasted inside), a 
whole onion put in without peeling it, some whole pepper- 
corns, a blade of mace, and a clove or two, with a small 
crust of bread toasted very dry and brown, but not burnt. 
When the gravy is boiled enough, strain it, and a little 
catsup and flour well braided together. Make the gravy 
just hoil up (not for a minute or two), before serving with 
the roast rabbit, in a separate tureen by itself Some add 
a glass of port wine to the gravy. 

Steived Rahhit. — Cut the rabbits into joints. Half fry 
them into butter, and lay them into a stew-pan. Fry some 
sliced onions, and put them over the rabbit in the stew- 
pan, with a little powdered mace, pepper, and salt. Pour 
sufficient water over them to cover them, allowing for the 
waste "by evaporation during cooking. The stew must be 
done very slowly, only being allowed just to simmer. It 
6 



98 COOKING EABBITS. 

will take two hours to do it properly ; when enough, take 
out each piece of rabbit and lay it on the dish on which it 
is to be served ; Avith the gravy which remains in the stew- 
pan mix a pickled walnut finely and smoothly braided, 
with a good tablespoonful of catsup and a dust of flour. 
Set it over the fire, and pour it over your rabbit directly 
that it shows symptoms of boiling up. 

Rahhit Pie. — Cut the rabbits into joints, and simply stew 
them with water, pepper, salt, and pounded mace, till 
they are half done. Proceed then as for pigeon pie, put- 
ting veal or pork, or both, instead of the beef Cover with 
paste, and bake till enough. 

To Curry Rahhits. — Take a young rabbit or two, skin and 
cut them into conveniently-sized pieces to serve, put them 
into a frying-pan Avith some butter, and fry them of a nice 
light brown color ; then place them at the bottom of your 
stew-pan. 

Slice and fry six or eight large onions ; place them over 
the rabbit in the stew-pan. Then mix four tablespoonsful 
of best curry -powder and some good stock gravy (which 
is a great point in insuring success), with salt, Cayenne 
pepper, nutmeg, three or four slices of lemon with the peel 
on, a small quantity of chopped pickles of all kinds that 
are at hand, and a glass of sherry. 

Boil well, and pour it over the rabbit and onions in the 
stew-pan ; let all simmer together for three hours ; serve it 
up in a dish encircled with rice that has been boiled in the 
following manner : Put the rice in cold water, and when 
it boils let it boil exactly sixteen minutes afterwards. The 



THE EABBIT. 99 

seventeenth minute would spoil it utterly. It is as with the 
charmed bullets of Zamial, ''The six(-teenth) shall achieve, 
the seven(-teerLth) deceive." 



FRENCH \VAYS OF COOKINa 
KABBITS. 

Marinade of Rallit. — The French have the habit of 
steeping or pickling many viands, especially white meats 
and fresh- water fish, in what they call marinade^ or piclde, 
of various compositions. 

If you are going to make use of a tame rabbit, hulk it 
as soon as it is killed, and stuff the inside with thyme, 
bay -leaves, sage, basil, pepper, and salt. Koast it till it is 
half done, and let it get cold. Cut it into joints, and put 
them into a marinade composed of white wine (or cider), 
lemon-juice, and parsley, shallots, thyme, bay -leaves, and 
a clove of garhc, all chopped up fine together. After they 
have soaked an hour, dip them in butter, and fry them in 
oil or butter which is not too hot. Fry them to a bright 
clear brown, and serve them dr}^, garnished with fiied 
parsley. 

Gihhelotte is the name of a particular mode of stew or 
fricassee, in which various meats and poultry may be 
served. Gibbelotte of rabbit (which is the original ^?ie/o^«!e) 
is thus made: Cut a rabbit into joints. Put a lump of 
butter into a stew-pan, and some lean bacon cut into slices. 
When they are browned take them out, and put your rab- 
bit in. As soon as it has had a toss or two, add a spoon- 



100 COOKING RABBITS. 

ful of flour, a glass of white wine, and a glass of good 
broth, a little pepper and nutmeg, a dozen small onions, a 
few button mushrooms, or instead of tliem a dessert spoon- 
ful of mushroom catsup, and a bunch of sweet herbs. 
When the rabbit is done enough, take the fat off the 
gray J ; thicken it if required, so that it be neither too 
thick nor too thin ; pour it over the rabbit, and serve 
garnished, either with pieces of toast or of fried bread 
round the dish. 

It is not an uncommon practice with French cooks to 
add an eel or two cut into short pieces^ when this and similar 
dishes are half cooked, and then to serve the whole together. 

Civet is the French name appropriated to a dish of stewed 
hare ; but rabbits are commonly dressed in the same way, 
when hares are out of season. 

Civet of Rahhit is made by cutting it into joints, putting 
it into a stew-pan, and giving it two or three turns on the 
fire. Then add a dusting of flour, a liberal allowance of 
red-wine, salt, pepper, and a few slices of bacon. Throw 
in some small onions that have been fried whole in butter, 
with a bouquet of sweet herbs. Make it boil up and skim 
off the fat. As soon as it is done enough, take away the 
bouquet^ and serve hot. N. B. — But a small quantity of 
the gravy should come to table. 

Rabbit Pate. — A very useful standing dish may be made 
of any size, the larger the better. 

Have ready your rabbits ; cut them up into joints; have, 
also, an earthen or stoneware ^a^e-dish with a close-fitting 



TILE EABBIT. 101 

cover. This kind of pate is made without any crust. At 
the bottom of the dish lay slices of bacon, and over that a 
layer of minced meat, of any kind you happen to have at 
hand, mixed with chopped parsley, chives, a largo clove 
of garlic, mushrooms, and pepper. Upon this bed lay the 
whole of your rabbits, as closely as you can pack the 
pieces, and then the remainder of your mince-meat, and 
some more slices of bacon to cover the whole. Shake it 
well together. Throw in a glass or two of white wine, 
put the cover on the dish, and set it in the oven till it is 
done enough. It must not be touched to be eaten until it 
is cold. 

En papiUottes^ or in curl-papers^ is a favorite French way 
of serving small portions of meat, such as joints of poultry 
and game, chops, cutlets, &c. 

For rabbits in curl-papers, cut them into quarters if 
they are very young, and into joints if they are full-grown ; 
marinade^ or pickle them, several hours in a mixture of 
oil, salt, pepper, catsup, and chopped parsley and chives, 
well mingled together. Have ready some oiled or buttered 
white wiiting paper, prepared exactly as for cutlets en pa- 
pillotes ; do up each piece of rabbit with a little of the 
seasoning and a thin slice of bacon enclosed in the paper • 
grill them on a gridiron over a very slow fire, and when 
they are thoroughly done serve them smoking hot in the 
paper, just as they are. 



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(^ emistry Made Easy , 

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Elements of Agriculture ; 

Translated from tie French, and Adapted to the use of American Farmers. Hy 
F. G. Skinner. 

The American Kitchen Gardener ; 

Containing DLrections for the Cultivation of Vegetables and Garden Fruits. B7 
T. G. Fessenden. 

The Bee Keeper's Chart ; 

Being a brief practical Treatise on the Instinct, Habita and Management of the 
Honey Bse, in all its various Branches, the result of many years' practical experi- 
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Every Lady her own Flower Gardener ; 

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Wilson on tlie Culture of Flax ; 

Its Treatment, Agricultural and Technical : delivered before the New York Stata 
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Pardee on Strawberry Culture. 

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Elliott's American Fruit-Grower's Guide in Orchard and 

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Cliemical Field Lectures for Agriculturists ; 

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Saxton's Eural Hand Books, . . . . $1 25 

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Thaer's Agriculture. 

The Principles of Agriculture, by Albert D. Thaer ; translated by "William Shaw and 
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reader, remarkably entertaining. 

Von Thaer was educated for a physician ; and, after reaching the summit of his 
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of the citizens ; and when he began to lay out plantations and orchards, to cu Itivato 
herbage and vegetables, the whole country was astonished at his science in the art of 
cultivation. He soon entered upon a large farm, and opened a school for the study of 
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This great work of Von Thaer's has passed through four editions in the United 
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Guenon on Milcli Cows : 

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JJana's ^[ack ^Fanual for the use of Farmers. 

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8 



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9 



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